After the Blackout
by revolutionfan20
Summary: Be Careful. Always.
1. Chapter 1

**_Part 1: Out of the Darkness _**

**CHAPTER 1: Kayleigh**

It was nearly dawn and I hadn't even fallen asleep yet.

I tossed and turned most of the night, like usual, thinking about my family.

I decided to get up. If I hadn't slept yet, I mostly certainly wouldn't now. The sun was already starting to peek through the dark pine trees when I picked up the old, worn saddle that I had been leaning against and threw it over my little brown pinto, Sam.

He gave a great sigh as I tightened the straps.

Grabbing my bed roll, I went back to Sam and strapped it down to the back of the saddle. I did the same with my bow and quiver full of arrows, making sure I could access both easily if I needed too...

Picking up my pack I swung it over my shoulders and untied Sam's reins from the tree. Going back out onto the main road I mounted Sam and nudged him forward. I let him walk slowly as we made our way down the cracked, two lane road. Dodging old cars and rubble, we made our way north towards Chicago. I didn't know what I was looking for...Not really, anyway. It had been fifteen years since the power went out.

I was only three when it happened.

I don't remember much of what it was like before the black out, but from what my mother use to tell me it was simpler. But people were careless and took things for granted.

Now life is chaotic,dangerous

...lonely...

All I knew was I had to get to Chicago...Miles Matheson's name flashed across my mind. My mother told me he could help. He could give me a place to live and even a job. I didn't know much about him. But what I did know made me worried to even reach out. Miles Matheson was the former General of the Monroe Republic. The Monroe Republic was everything from Wisconsin to Virginia. Militia soldiers controlled the Monroe Republic and General Sebastian Monroe controlled them. No one really knows why but Matheson ran from Monroe and being a part of the Militia. My mother knew...but she never gave me the whole story. As I was riding down the road, I thought about why I was even going to him. He trained, helped build the militia to what it is today.

They're a ruthless, lawless bunch of dicks.

They're also the reason i'm alone.

The road moved away from the forest, heading through wide open fields.

I passed a large sign that read;

•W L IL LN IS•

I was so close.

But turning around and running to the Georgia Federation or god forbid even Texas, still crossed my mind with every step.

I looked at the sky to the East, the dark rolling clouds heading my way began to worry me. I didn't like the thought of getting stuck out in the open during a storm. My only choice of cover was an old service store, I could see it ahead in the distance.

I pushed Sam into a trot, making the service station just in time, as the dark clouds moved over the wide open Illinois sky.

I went inside, pulling a not so happy horse in behind me.

"You're okay boy" I said trying to sooth him as I removed the packs and saddle from his back.

Lighting flashed brightly across the sky, followed by a loud BANG! Sam's eyes rolled, and he side stepped along the tile floor as he began to panic.

The store was lined with shelves that were mostly empty. Trash from whatever use to be sold here, mostly food, covered a large portion of the floor.

I slowly moved towards Sam, placing my hand gently on his neck I ran my fingers up and down, attempting to sooth his fear of storms.

I got him to calm down...slightly...

Then gripping the halter around his head, I moved him to the back of the store, making my way through an aisle that was not so trashed.

I got him to lie down, grabbing the blanket from my bed roll, I threw it over him. I brought my pack, Sam's saddle and my bow over to where I had Sam settled. Suddenly, I heard a loud clanking sound coming from behind a door that read 'Storage'.

My hand flew to my bow. Grabbing my quiver full of arrows and swinging it over my head and onto my back, I made my way towards the door.

I pulled an arrow out, stringing it as I got closer.

I took a deep breath.

Holding the bow up, I kicked open the door.

"Don't shoot! Jesus christ don't shoot!" A guy yelled.

It was dark, but I could see just enough that I could tell the man who yelled was handcuffed to a pole that ran from the ceiling into the ground.

"Who are you?" I asked, not lowering my weapon.

"My name is Dean Winchester...Please i've been here for...Hell almost a week maybe...I don't know..."

I didn't know what to do...He was obviously chained for a reason. And if I knew anything about people it's that you can't trust them.

"Look I get it, you don't know me and I'm handcuffed to a pole. Not exactly going in my favor is it"

"Not really"

"Take my shirt off"

"Excuse me?"

"Unbutton my shirt...I have a tattoo. It'll prove i'm not militia or a part of any bandit gangs"

I put down my bow and stuck the arrow back in the quiver. Pulling out the knife I kept in my boot, I went over to Dean.

I hesitated at first then unbuttoned the top of his flannel.

Pulling it back, I saw a small tattoo of a red and white striped flag with white stars painted on his chest.

"You're a rebel" I said looking at his face.

He was young, probably in his early twenties. If I had to guess, twenty-two. He had dark brown hair and grey-blue eyes. He was also muscular, probably from the training and fighting. But his face was thin, pale and he looked almost sickly.

"You're wrists" I said.

"You don't believe me"

"I'm sorry...I just have to be sure..."

I lifted each sleeve and I checked his wrists.

"See? No militia emblem burned into my skin"

I hesitated again...I looked into his face, he seemed genuine but...I couldn't really be sure.

I reached down my shirt.

And a huge grin ran across his face.

"It's not what you think perv," I replied, pulling out a hair pin that was attached to my bra and holding it in front of his face.

"I knew that's what you were doing"

"Of course you did"

I took the pin and stuck it into the lock of the cuffs.

"You're lucky you know. If it weren't for that storm you'd probably would have died in here" I said with a smirk.

"Is that your way of saying I also owe you my life as well"

"Um, yeah. Yeah it is"

"Well, I can't really argue that"

"Nope"

The lock made a clicking sound as the cuffs popped open.

Dean rubbed his wrists, which were bruised and bloody from the chaffing of the cuffs.

He stood up, and stumbled as he got onto his feet.

I caught his arm and helped him back into the store.

Sam was no longer laying on the floor but standing, chewing on my packs strap.

"Either i've been in there a lot longer than I thought...or there's a horse standing in the middle of the store"

"He's mine...he's scared of thunderstorms, I didn't want to leave him out there"

I helped him to the floor.

As he leaned back against a shelf, I rummaged through my pack.

"Here," I said pulling out a bottle of water.

"Thanks" he said taking the bottle from me.

"Drink slowly" I told him.

"You're on your own?"

"Yes"

"You seem a little young to be out here alone...Especially since you're a girl"

"I'm almost nineteen actually. I can take care of myself...not that it's any of your business how I live"

"Right sorry, didn't mean to offend you"

"Yeah and no offense but I don't appreciate the sexist comment either. Just because i'm a girl doesn't mean I don't know how to defend myself"

There was another flash of lighting and bang of thunder.

It made me jump almost as much as it made Sam.

"Looks like he's not the only one scared of storms" Dean said.

I didn't say anything, I just continued to sit there and watch him...with my hand still clutching the knife.

"You know, you never told me your name" he said taking one last sip of water and handing me back the bottle.

"You're right I didn't" I replied, taking the bottle from him.

"Okay...if you can't tell me your name, I have to call you something right?"

"No you really don't"

"You look like a Sarah to me"

A flinched when I heard the name. I'm sure he could see the sadness that spread across my face.

I tried my best to hide it, but it was to painful.

"Okay, I guess you don't look like a Sarah..."

"That was my moms name"

"I'm guessing she's-"

"Dead...Yeah..."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean-"

"Just...stop talking, please..."

I got up and went over to Sam, trying to sooth him again.

His ears perked when he saw me reach into my jeans pocket.

He knew it meant he was getting a sugar cube.

He nudged his muzzle against my hand and nibbled on my t-shirt until I fed him the sugar cube.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you" Dean said, coming over to me and Sam.

"You shouldn't be walking around. You're weak, you need to eat something and rest"

"I'm fine...I know what it's like...to lose people you care about...to be alone. It sucks...And you spend every minute of every day wishing it had been you instead of them"

"Kayleigh"

"What?"

"My name is Kayleigh"

The storm was still raging on as we sat in silence, ignoring each others stolen glances.

We were stuck in that small store with my one bottle of water, which was now half empty, some dried meat and half a loaf of bread I had gotten from a town I had hit before getting into Illinois.

I gave Dean some of my food, but only a little at a time or else he would just puke it back up.

"How long do you think till the storm passes" Dean asked.

"Two hours...three tops" I said, chewing on some dried beef.

"So I'm stuck in a gas station for another three hours with you and a horse for company...thats awesome. You know when I picture being trapped in a cold, small space with a girl, this isn't how I pictured it would go"

"Wow"

"What"

"You're more of a womanizing dick than I originally thought"

"That's nice. You don't even know me"

"Well after that last comment thats all I needed to hear to know what kind of guy you are"

"All right, go ahead...What kind of guy am I?"

"Well from what you said before...About what its like to lose someone...You obviously have, and instead of letting the hurt of what happen show, you bottle it instead. Keep it to yourself. You don't let anyone get close to you...emotionally, anyway...You play people with your looks and charm but really it's just a smoke screen. You want to be able to get close to people but you don't want to get hurt again either...So, How'd I do?"

"You think I'm handsome and charming?" He said with a wide grin.

"My point exactly" I replied, getting up and going to look out the window at the storm.

The rain was starting to slow down, but flashes of lighting still danced across the black sky.

Dean joined me by the window, he didn't say anything and he kept his distance to several feet.

"That first week, after the blackout...it was terrifying. You probably don't remember it, but I do. I was only eight when bandits killed both my parents.

It was the middle of the night, my older brother Adam came bursting into my room. He pulled me from my bed he dragged me underneath it, threw his hand over my mouth so I wouldn't make any noise...I could hear their screams...I could hear them begging..."

"You don't have to tell me"

"No it's okay, I want to"

He took a few minutes, gathering himself to finish the rest of the story.

"My brother was only fifteen and he had to raise me...When I was thirteen we got picked up by some militia soldiers. They were taking us to one of their brainwashing, training camps. But some rebels ambushed them, they probably saved our lives. I've been with them ever since"

"I'm sorry Dean"

"Yeah well...I guess you were right about me"

"Not really"

"What makes you say that"

"You've known me for what? Three hours? And you opened up to me...So maybe there's still hope for you"

He laughed, "I suppose so...So what about you, what's your story"

"Sorry...I don't like to talk about it"

"You don't trust me?"

"No it has nothing to do with trusting you...I just...I can't"

"It's okay, I understand...the storm's passing" he said, looking out the window, "so much for three hours"

"Yeah I guess so"

I went to the back of the store, packing up my stuff.

I threw Sam's saddle onto his back and started on the straps.

"I grabbed a bag off one of the shelves, I put some food in it for you and the rest of the water" I said to Dean, as I made my way to the front of the store with Sam.

I swung my quiver of arrows over my head and onto my back.

Dean held the door open as I led Sam out.

The clouds were still a dark grey as the last of the storm passed over head.

"I'm heading north, to Chicago. I know some people there and its close that I probably won't pass out on the road from dehydration" Dean said as we walked back towards the road.

I laughed, shaking my head at the coincidence.

"What could possibly be funny about me dying on the side of the road" He said

"Nothing, we just might as well walk together"

"You're going to Chicago too?"

"Yep"

"Missing me already?"

"Fine, you can walk alone then" I said, about to push myself up onto Sam's back.

"Wait wait, okay"

I turned back towards him,

"You going to be okay to walk then?"

"Yeah i'll be fine"

"All right, lets go"


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2: Kayleigh ?

Tall, glistening buildings lined the horizon as we made our way down the wide, car ridden highway. I had never seen anything like this before. It was my first time to one of the old cities. I had seen pictures of Chicago in old travel books, but fifteen years has certainly changed The Windy City's appearance.

The skyscrapers were slowly falling apart, what nature there was before had expanded into the city. Weeds, vines and trees grew through the ruble and over took the small buildings of Chicago. We made our way into the city, walking past dozens of stands selling everything from food to weapons.

"You know where you're going?" Dean asked as we made our way through the streets.

"Not really, I've never been here before...I'm looking for The Grand Hotel"

"Well you're lucky I have. Come on, I'll take you there. It's the least I can do since you saved my ass"

"Okay but there's something I have to do first..."

I pulled my pack and bed roll off Sam.

Tying my bed roll to my pack I swung it onto my back, letting it hang low because of my quiver.

"What are you doing?"

"I need money...So i'm selling Sam"

"I know a guy who'll buy him"

"You know a guy who'll buy a horse?"

"Yeah, Jimmy's stand is over on Elm...it's a few blocks, won't take along"

"All right...take me to Jimmy"

"Dean Winchester! Hey kid, it's been a while" said a middle aged man, from behind a wooden table that was full of knives, swords, jewelry and other odds and ends.

"Jimmy, it's always good to see you" Dean said shaking his hand,

"This is Kayleigh..."

"Evans. Kayleigh Evans" I said taking Jimmy's hand shaking.

"It's a pleasure...She's a pretty one Dean, ya better hold on to this one"

"We aren't together Jimmy, she just needs to sell her horse"

"Right, right whatever you say...Well let me take a look at the fellow"

He came out from behind the table and over to me and Sam.

"He's a good looking horse, what's his name"

"Sam, he's five years old, well trained and stronger than he looks" I said.

I watched Jimmy as he examined Sam, he clearly knew his way around horses.

He had light brown hair that was starting to grey and small round glasses that framed his thin, wrinkled face.

He was wearing some type of cargo multi colored green military pants and a black t-shirt. He was a lot older than Dean, but had the same muscular physique.

"Jimmy's a good guy," Dean whispered to me as Jimmy looked over Sam's hoofs,

"He'll give you a good deal"

"Thanks"

"No problem...People are sketchy around here and will easily take advantage of newbies"

"Well, you're right. Good horse, good muscle build in his legs. He'll make someone a great ride...Hell I might just keep him myself...I'd say about three hundred pieces even"

"That's very generous of you sir" I told him, knowing that despite Sam's good health, three hundred for a horse was high in these days.

"Please just call me Jimmy. Makes me feel old when people say 'Sir'...The price is just right I think. I can tell you need it, maybe get yourself a new bow"

"I appreciate the gesture but I can't take that much from you...And besides I'm rather fond of this bow"

"Of course you can, and you will" he said going back behind the wooden table. Reaching underneath he pulled out a tin box.

"Don't try to argue with him, he won't take no for an answer" Dean said to me.

"Smart boy, you should listen to him" Jimmy said, waving his finger from behind the table.

He came back around and handed me my money.

"Thank you...Jimmy"

"No problem Miss Evans...Anything for a friend of Deans"

I stuffed the money into my pack and handed him the reins.

He brought Sam next to his table and tied his reins to a lamp post that was near it.

I reached into my other pocket, pulling out the last couple sugar cubes. Going over to Sam I fed him the sugar and said goodbye.

"If you ever need anything while in the city, you can come to me. For anything. And if you do decide to replace that bow, I can get you a nice one at a good discount...Like I said before, any friend of Deans is a friend of mine"

"I'll do that" I replied.

"You boy, better make sure to stay outta trouble...And look after this one" he said gesturing to me, and giving me a wink.

"I promise" Dean replied as Jimmy gave him a hug goodbye.

We made our way down the street, Jimmy still waving goodbye.

"Sorry about that...He can be a bit-"

"Fatherly? He seems to care about you a lot...You're lucky"

"I don't know about that...He's more like the crazy Uncle" he said with a smile.

"How long have you known him"

"I met him while I was in training, about nine years"

"He's a rebel too?" I said lowering my voice because of militia soldiers that were standing outside a bar.

"Was, I guess you can say he's retired"

"Why? He doesn't seem that old"

"He's not, but he took a bullet to the back and was lucky enough to still be able to walk. But the damage was enough to put him on 'permanent leave'...he still helps occasionally, keeping an eye on the soldiers that pass through Chicago"

We made our way through the streets, as it grew late the crowds grew larger as citizens and militia soldiers flocked to the bars.

Pushing our way through a crowded intersection, I looked up to see a building with dulled, rusty letters that read;

•The Grand Hotel•

Despite the crowd outside, the hotel seemed particularly empty.

We made our way to the front entrance, standing off to the side I turned towards Dean.

"Thanks for showing me the way, I probably would have gotten lost if you hadn't"

"Yeah probably" he said laughing.

"Wow thanks for that"

"Well I uh...I guess I'll see you around"

"Yeah sure..."

To be honest, the whole goodbye was extremely awkward. I didn't know whether to shake his hand, give him a friendly hug or just walk away.

But before I had time to process what to do, he leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.

"Goodbye Kayleigh Evans" he said, then took off, disappearing into the crowd.

I don't know what surprised me more, the kiss or the giggling school girl smile that appeared on my face after. I shook off the ridiculous expression and walked inside the hotel. Going through the double doors at the top, I came into what use to be the lobby and had now been converted into a bar.

The bar stood in the middle of the room, It was surrounded by vastly tall white marbled pillars. The counters that made up the bar created an enclosed rectangle shape. Surrounding the outside of the pillars were couches and lounge chairs.

I went up to the man who was bar tending. He looked to be in his thirties and like the rest of the men around here he seemed rough around the edges...And probably a little drunk.

"Excuse me but I'm looking for a man, his name is Miles Matheson. I was told I could find him here" I asked him.

He turned away from the drink he was pouring.

"Who's asking" he said, looking me curiously up and down.

"Kayleigh"

"Well I'm sorry Kayleigh, but I don't know any Miles Matheson"

"Are you sure...I was told he owned this place"

"And who told you that" he said, giving the drink to a man who clearly shouldn't be having another. Then poured another and placed it in front of me.

"No thanks I don't drink...My mom, she told me I could find him here"

He picked up the drink he poured for me,

"Who's your mom" he said about to put the glass to his lips.

"Sarah...Sarah Elizabeth Evans"

The glass froze, less than an inch away from his lips.

He placed the drink back down on the counter.

"Sarah...Sarah Evans is your mother?"

"Yeah...Wait, I'm sorry do you know her?"

"Frank! Take over will ya" he said yelling to some guy flirting with girl on the other side of the bar.

"Come on" he said waving to me.

He brought me over to a spot in the corner of the room where it was empty and away from the customers.

"First off kid, you shouldn't be saying the name Miles Matheson so loudly when militia soldiers have been patrolling the streets for the last few days...Secondly...I'm Miles Matheson"

"Wait what-"

"Let me see your wrists"

"I'm not militia"

"Let me see your wrists"

I pulled up the sleeves to my navy blue shirt and turned my arms so he could see my wrists clearly.

"Good you're clean. Now what the hell are you doing here asking around for me"

"My mom...she told me you could help me. Give me a job a place to stay..."

"And what made her think I would do that"

"She told me you would say something like that...And she told me to remind you of Boston when you did. She said you'd know what it meant"

"And why did she let you come all the way here? Last time I checked she was living in Maryland"

"She was...We were...she's dead, been dead a long time...so, here I am"

He sunk into one of the arm chairs in the corner. He rubbed his eyes,

"When did it happen" he asked.

"It was eight years ago...we were collecting herbs...they came out of no where"

"Bandits"

"No militia...they were camping in the area...they were drunk...she uh...she died slow..." It was hard to talk about it so I didn't go into detail about what really happened...I already started to feel the tears swell in my eyes and wiped them away with my sleeve.

"I'm sorry"

"Yeah...me too"

"What exactly is it you expect from me"

"I just need a job...a place to stay...I won't stay here long, just something to get started...She told me if I was ever in trouble...And had no where else to go you could help..."

"Your dad and your brothers what about them"

"They died too...look I didn't come here to talk about what happened to my family...can you give me a job or not because if you can't i'd like to be on my way"

He got up from the chair, looking at me, studying my face.

"You can work mornings...it can get rough at night and I don't want you working the bar with the kind of guys we get in here. We have plenty of rooms upstairs, i'll get one ready for you"

"Thank you"

He nodded and waved me off, walking up another flight of stairs near the back of the room.

I took a seat at the bar, and only ordered some water.

My hands were shaking like crazy, I could barely hold the glass of water...not from nerves of meeting Miles Matheson or just being in Chicago...

It was from the memories of what happened to my family, flowing back into my mind like a crushing wave.

Miles had me working only a few hours just to get me started.

I had to learn how to make drinks and remember prices due to the fact they weren't written anywhere.

Only one other person worked for Miles, and that was Frank.

An old, rather round man who was constantly hitting on any woman that walked through the large double doors.

Weeks had past and I finally was able to settle in.

We found a rhythm and Miles started letting me work longer hours.

I didn't mind the work because it gave me something to do and helped keep my mind off the things that kept me awake at night.

Miles didn't talk much...usually not at all. But it was okay because I was so use to being alone that I barely noticed the silence.

Except for when frank was working.

He talked enough for the both of us.

Occasionally he would surprise me with an interesting story from what life was like before the blackout.

But most of the time it just sounded like blabber, due to the multiple drinks he would sip in between words.

When I didn't work, I would explore the city or go and visit Jimmy.

He would let me sit beside him as he worked and tell me stories. They were beautiful stories, fairytales he called them, and I was enchanted with them. They were about far off places full of creatures and magic. Heroes and Heroines. Good versus Evil.

"Good always wins" he would say to me after every story.

"Why?" I asked this time as I was sitting in a chair, with an old bow he had found; smoothing it out and testing the bow string.

It always confused me that 'good' would win, even if it seemed impossible, they would always come out in the end.

"Love" he replied.

"What does love got to do with it"

"Everything. Love is the strongest kind of magic"

"I don't mean to be rude but that's ridiculous"

"Do you not believe in love?" He asked me.

"It just leads to a whole lot of hurt if you ask me"

"Ah, I've lost people too. But that doesn't mean love isn't strong, or that it isn't there"

"I'd rather be like the hunter in your story...the one who couldn't feel love because the evil queen took his heart"

"Tis better to have loved and lost, then to not have loved at all" he replied.

"And you really believe that?" I asked him, putting down the bow and looking up at him.

"Yes, I do. And one day someone will make you believe it to"

"Hey! Kayleigh!"

I turned around and saw Dean waving from across the street.

I smiled at him and waved back.

"Aw there's the someone now" Jimmy said.

I whipped my head around at his comment and scoffed at him.

He just smiled, and went to help a customer.

"Hey, it's been a while" Dean said coming up to Jimmy's stand, "did you find what you were looking for"

"Yeah I did, thanks...What about you"

"Trying to get healthy. I was more messed up than I thought when you found me...Thanks again for that"

"Yeah, of course"

"I'm glad I caught you here...I was wondering if we could talk"

"Yeah sure...I'll see you tomorrow?" I said to Jimmy.

"Yes, yes! Go on!" He said waving us off with a large grin spreading across his face as he watched us leave together.

Dean walked me back to The Grand and we headed up to my room on the second floor.

It was decent enough. It had a queen sized bed, a large dresser, a small apartment kitchen...Not that I ever used it...and even a small couch.

I threw my green military bag onto the bed and placed my bow and quiver by the door. Dean walked around, looking at every little thing.

I had pictures scattered across the room. They were of my parents and older brothers in some old frames I had found at the market.

Dean went around, looking at each picture.

"You're not in any of them" he said without taking his eyes from the portrait of my brothers sitting in a large oak tree.

"Their camera broke before I was born. They never were able to get any pictures of me before the blackout"

"I'm glad you're doing well here" he said, "I know how hard it can be"

"Do you wanna sit?" I said gesturing to the couch.

"Um, yeah why not"

It was weird, him being here. We had kept in touch, he occasionally came by and would show me around the city. But other than that we hadn't seen much of each other.

"So I uh...I'm leaving for Annapolis" he said taking a seat on the couch.

"When?" I asked, feeling slightly sad about him leaving.

"Tomorrow...I have to get back to base, they've been running into some trouble and i've been feeling stronger"

I didn't really know what to say, and I don't really think he did either. But i'm glad he told me, I guess he was trying to say goodbye but he seemed unsure of how to do it.

"I think you should come with me" he said suddenly, catching me off guard.

"You want me to come to Annapolis with you?"

"Look, you can live as much of a normal life as you can or you can help fight, become a rebel. I know I don't know you that well, but you seem like a fighter to me. And we could honestly use all the help we can get. Monroe needs to be stopped, you must see that. I know if anything I'm the one that owes you. So I don't really have a right to ask you for-"

"I'll do it"

"What?"

"I'll go with you, i'll become a rebel or whatever"

"Just like that?"

"This life, it's nice and it's safe but it isn't for me. The truth is I only came here because I made a promise to someone I'd try and stay away from all that...the war, the fighting. And I did, I tried this life. I can't pretend anymore. I can't walk by a militia soldier without wanting to shoot an arrow straight through his neck. And yeah I guess that sounds crazy, but I can't help it. The militia...they took things from me that can never be replaced. I wanna do this Dean...I have to do this..."

"I understand...I'm leaving in the morning, at dawn. I'll meet you out front of Jimmy's stand. So you can say goodbye"

He got up and was about to head out the door, when I stopped him.

"Dean wait!" I said getting off the couch and running over to him.

"I want to ask a favor...it's going to sound strange..."

"All right, I'll bite. What is it"

"Would you...would you stay here tonight...I just I don't..."

"Want to be alone" he finished for me.

"Yeah..."

"I'll stay...I'll go grab my stuff. Maybe get us some food?"

"Yeah sounds good...Thank you Dean"

"No problem" he smiled and left again, closing the door gently behind him.

After Dean left, it started to grow cold so I threw on my pair of long dark blue washed jeans and my brothers old green military jacket.

I headed downstairs and sat at one of the tall stools at the bar.

Miles came over and placed a glass of water in front of me.

"Thanks" I said, attempting a smile.

"All right, whats bothering you" he said, throwing the rag he had been wiping down the bar with over his shoulder.

"Nothing"

"I don't believe that"

"There's something I need to tell-"

"Um, Excuse me?" A girl said from behind me.

Miles looked up, and I turned around in my stool.

A young girl, about twenty, a boy about the same age, maybe older and an older blonde haired woman and a chubby man with glasses had come up to the bar.

"Can I help you" Miles said, sounding impatient.

"We're looking for somebody" said the older woman, her voice a light british accent.

"With that accent lady, you're classing' up the joint" Miles replied.

"That shouldn't be too difficult should it?"

I laughed.

I couldn't help it.

Miles glared at me.

"Sorry..." I said softly, quickly taking a sip of my water.

"His name is Miles Matheson"

I put down my glass, watching Miles as he put on a blank expression.

"Never heard of him"

"No...he has to be here" said the younger girl frantically.

"What do you want me to say kid" Miles replied, turning and pouring drinks for customers.

"Please, if you know him...or know anyone who does can...can you let him know his brother is dead"

Miles froze, placing the bottle of scotch back on the counter.

"He was murdered by Militia"

I watched Miles.

I didn't even know he had a brother. He never said much about his personal life.

"Who are you" Miles said, grabbing some cups and placing them on the counter in front of them.

"Charlie...Charlotte, I'm his niece" she replied.

"Okay...just you, come with me" Miles said, waving to Charlie.

"No way buddy. You're not taking her anywhere" the boy said, waving a hunting knife at Miles.

Miles whipped the knife from the boy's hand, and put it to his throat.

"She's my niece. I don't know you" he said studying the boys face intently, then slammed the knife down into the counter.

"Wait, you're uncle Miles?" Charlie asked.

"Underwhelmed?" Miles asked.

"No...I mean I...I didn't expect..."

"Come on...not in here" he said coming around from behind the counter,

"Kayleigh, take over will ya"

"On it boss" I said, jumping onto the counter and swinging my legs over.

As I got back onto the floor, on the other side of the bar. I pushed the glasses and tin cups Miles had grabbed at the other three.

"Can I get you anything?" I said with a smile.

The chubby guy sat down, and the british woman threw him a look.

"What? They're probably going to be a while" he said.

"Scotch please" he said turning to me.

"You got it" I said taking one of the cups and going over to the counter of alcohol.

"How old are you? You seem a little young to be working in a place like this" the chubby guy asked as I handed him his drink.

"Eighteen and it's a job...I take what I can get"

The older woman sat down,

"I'm Maggie, this is Aaron" she said pointing to the chubby guy, "and Nate"

Nate continued to stand, watching the door of where Miles and Charlie had disappeared behind.

I looked him over.

He had a quiver full of arrows on his back and a long bow at his side, which his fists were clenching so hard they were going white. His skin was dark, not tan but he didn't seem african american either. It was hard to tell. His hair was short, a buzz cut, almost military styled like my brothers use to sport.

I turned my attention to Aaron. His hair was brown, and longer than Nate's military cut, and he had a short curly beard. He wore a strange t-shirt with golden letters running across that read 'Star Wars'. It had a weird metal man, a small cylinder looking thing and a very large, hairy creature.

He carried no weapons, but his hand kept moving over something in his pocket. Every time a look of relief when he felt whatever was hiding there. Almost like the world would end if it had fallen out, and he needed to check every minute to make sure it hadn't.

I turned to the british woman, Maggie, but when I did I found she was already watching me.

Other than the British accent, she reminded me of my mom. The long, slightly curly, blonde hair. She had deep blue eyes which my whole family had been blessed with except for me.

Mine were a light green.

She had a motherly air about her, I could always tell.

"Where are your parents?" She asked me suddenly, "do they not care their daughter is working in a place like this"

"They probably would, except they're dead"

I had said it so casually that I had actually caught myself off guard.

"I'm sorry" she said, there was that motherly look again.

"It was a long time ago. Stuff happens. We move on right?" I said, trying to ignore her gaze.

"You seem rather mature for your age" she said.

"Eighteen doesn't qualify as mature?" I asked.

"I guess it does"

"You can't dwell on those things. If you do it'll get yourself killed, things like that make you weak. It's an unjust world we live in, mam. We can't afford to be weak"

Which was technically true but bullshit on my part.

I constantly dwell on what happened to my family, and it breaks a piece of me every day.

But she was a stranger to me, so i'm not exactly about to tell her that.

Miles and Charlie talked for a while. But it made me realize that Dean still hadn't come back.

Which had me worried...

Suddenly, Charlie came bursting out from behind the door in tears.

"Charlie what happened? What's wrong?" Nate said running to her.

"Nothing, let's just go. It was a mistake coming here"

I saw Miles coming out, heading back for the bar.

"Hey! Hold on" Nate said, stopping him.

"Step back" Miles said.

"What did you say to her"

Miles didn't say anything, instead he grabbed his right wrist and pulled down the sleeve of his shirt.

The Monroe Militia insignia was burned into his skin.

"Militia...So when did you enlist?" Miles said.

Nate answered with his head, slamming it into Miles and catching him off guard he took off.

Pulling an arrow from his quiver and stringing it to his bow, he made his way out of The Grand.

"This is all my fault Miles, I'm sorry" Charlie said.

We were gathered, sitting on the couches and lounge chairs in the bar.

Miles had made me kick everyone out of the bar so they could talk.

"He was probably from the same unit that took your brother. Been following you from the get go. Hoping you'd flush me out, which is exactly what you did"

"So what are you going to do" Aaron asked him.

"This, as far as I know," he said reaching into one of the cabinets under the counters,

"Is the last bottle of single malt in Chicago. My plan is to sit here and drink it"

"You can't just stay here it's not safe" Charlie said.

"And whose fault is that? Your boyfriend is going to get the nearest squad, two maybe three hours tops. So if I were you guys I'd hit the road"

"This is crazy, just come with us!" Charlie said, getting up from the arm chair,

"Or don't thats fine, just go somewhere. You can stay here and die"

"Just go"

"Miles come on"

"I said go...GET OUT!" He yelled when they didn't move.

"Get outta here!"

"Miles!" I said sternly, going over to him.

"Kayleigh, don't even start!" He replied, waving his finger at me.

"It's okay, we're going" Charlie said to me.

They grabbed their packs and left.

"Did you really need to yell at her like that?" I asked.

"You need to go too. The militia can't find you here with me, if they do..." He didn't finish the sentence, instead he poured him self another glass of the single malt.

"What do you mean they can't find me here? What as opposed to finding me on the streets?"

There was a loud knock on the door.

We froze...

It couldn't be the militia because they'd probably would just barge in.

Miles went over to the double doors. He unlocked and slowly opened them.

He gave a loud huff, and swung the door open.

It was Dean.

"Where the hell have you been!?" I said.

Running over to him, I threw my arms around his neck.

"Wow, you leave for a few hours and it's like you've been gone for months" he said.

I pulled away and punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow! Geez Kayleigh"

He looked around at the empty bar, then at Miles who had slumped over to the couch with the single malt bottle. Now just chugging it from the bottle instead.

"Kayleigh...what's going on"

"I was worried about you, you jerk!"

"Kayleigh! Focus, what is going on. Why is the bar closed and why is Miles already hitting the single malt. It's two o'clock in the afternoon"

"Militia, they're on their way to get Miles. They found out he's here"

"Why are they after Miles?"

"Um...it's a long story, but we have to get out of here and Miles refuses to leave"

"Okay, go get your stuff, I'll talk to him"

I turned to go upstairs,

"Hey," Dean said.

I turned back around to face him.

His face was plastered with his signature charming smirk.

"You were worried about me?"

I rolled my eyes at him and turned away, making my way up the stairs and to my room. I took the photos out of the frames and stuffed them in my pack. Grabbing what clothes I had I stuffed them in as well. I swung my quiver over my head and onto my back, and then did the same with my pack.

Grabbing my bow, I headed back down stairs.

"Think about Kayleigh!" I heard Dean yell.

"She came here because of you! She won't admit it but you've been the closest thing she has had to a real family in a long time. How can you expect her to just leave you here with the militia coming after you. She cares about you, and she's lost enough people in her life already"

"Don't talk to me like you know what she's been through. From what she's told me about you and how you met, she hasn't told you what happened to her family" Miles replied angrily.

"She told me enough and Im okay with that. I know what it's like to lose the only people you have. And you're all she has left, don't put her through the pain of losing anyone else"

"She has you. And i'm not going to make her leave. I'm going to make you take her. Because you obviously care about her enough to want her to leave, which is why you're trying so hard to convince me to come along"

Suddenly Miles turned and saw me sitting at the top of the stairs, listening to them argue.

Dean followed his gaze and saw me as well. They both just stood there staring, waiting for me to say something.

So, getting up from the steps I made my way over to them.

"So there's no convincing you" I said to Miles.

"No"

"Why"

"Story for another time"

"Yeah right, if I ever see you again"

"Look kid, just promise me you'll be careful okay"

"Yeah...Well i'd say the same to you but seeing how you're just going to sit around and wait for your imminent death, I won't"

I started walking towards the door.

"Look after her, or i'll kill you myself" I heard Miles say to Dean.

"Yes, sir" Dean replied making a salute like gesture.

Dean brushed past me making his way out the door, I turned and looked back at Miles.

He nodded to me, then went back to drowning himself in his bottle of single malt.

"He'll be okay. He can take care of himself" Dean said as we made our way down the front steps of the hotel.

"Yeah I know" I replied, taking one last look at The Grand.

We were making our way down the street when I saw them.

The militia were walking right up the middle of the street...being lead by Nate.

They were heading straight for The Grand...Straight towards me and Dean.

Nate would recognize me...and I wasn't about to find out if they'd arrest me.

Dean saw them too and we went as far off to the side as we could, now we were practically leaning against the building unable to go further, but we couldn't go straight and it was a dead end the other way.

"Dean, its the boy from earlier, he'll recognize me"

"What the hell do we do now?"

I looked around, then I looked up at Dean...realizing there was only one thing we could do to block Nate's view of me...

"Kiss me"

"What?"

I rolled my eyes, grabbing his jacket I pulled him in close and kissed him. His body blocked Nate's view to me, so all they saw was a couple making out on the sidewalk. Dean was taller than me, and instead of having to lean over he lifted me up off the ground so that I had to throw my arms around his neck just to keep myself from slipping away.

I had never been kissed before.

At least not like this...

I looked out of the corner of my eye towards The Grand, just as Nate and the soldiers were making their way through the front door.

Dean saw as well, and we pulled away from each other.

"Uh, good...Good plan...Come on, we should uh...get out of here" Dean said, clearly taken aback.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked, laughing at his jumbled actions.

"Yeah...let's get out of here" he said grabbing my hand and pulling me down the street, as we headed away from The Grand as fast as we could.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3: Kayleigh?

We went with our original plan and started to make our way to Annapolis. The whole time my thoughts went to Miles. Wondering if he had been captured or if they had killed him.

Or maybe Miles had managed to get away.

Several times I had thought about turning around and going back for him. But I stopped myself because I knew that Miles would be long gone. Dean could see I was struggling with having to leave him behind, but he didn't say anything.

It had been a week since we left Chicago. We were making good headway, already a few days from the border between Indiana and Ohio.

It started to grow dark, so we found an abandoned barn along the road and decided to use it as our 'camp site' for the night.

It was a good thing too, since we could see a storm making its way south, the same direction we were heading in.

"Don't worry, it won't be a bad storm" Dean said, seeing my worried expression as I watched the dark storm clouds draw near.

"How can you tell" I asked, leaving the enormous open doorway of the barn to join him on the floor near the fire he was attempting to make.

"I'm an optimist"

I gave a slight smile, but couldn't muster much more than that.

He took my hand,

"Miles is okay"

"I didn't know you were a psychic too...And you suck at making a fire"

"The damn thing won't light"

"Here" I holding my hand out to him.

"Okay, if you think-"

I took the rocks he was using as a fire starter and lit the timber in one swipe.

"Yes I do think" I said smirking.

He stuck his tongue at me when he thought I wasn't looking...I was traveling with a five year old in a twenty-three year olds body.

The rain pounded against the walls and roof of the barn. We had made sure to build the fire as far from the entrance of the barn as we could because we couldn't get the doors closed.

"So," Dean said as he rummaged through his pack, "we've got dried fish or dried fish? Any preference?"

I pretended to think about it for a second,

"Dried fish please" I replied with a smile.

"Good choice" He said, handing me a piece.

"I was ten..."

It came out so quick that it was only a whisper.

Dean looked up at me.

"I was ten..." I said more clearly,

"When my mother died. We were out in the woods, near where we lived. Looking for herbs and things like that. She was a doctor, she helped people. We usually spent several days out there, scouring for anything we could find. My dad always hated it, when I went with her. He said it wasn't safe, but I use to throw a fit if they made me stay home, so he would let me go. We had travelled farther than usual, it was getting dark so we went just a little further to find a good place to settle down for the night. That's when we came across militia soldiers. My mom immediately pushed me behind some of the brush, but they saw her before she could hide. I couldn't see anything, but I remember hearing her cries and screams for help as they beat and raped her...I still hear her cries in my nightmares, it's why I don't like to sleep for too long. They left late the next morning. I was lucky that they never found me...after they left I came out of my hiding place. My mothers body was so bloody and mangled I barely recognized her. I didn't know what to do, I was only ten. So I sat by her body, holding her hand. My brothers, found me a few days later, still next to her body. They said I was still holding her hand when they found me passed out on the ground from exhaustion and hunger. They said I almost died..and sometimes I wish I had..."

I was fiddling with a loose thread on my green jacket. I couldn't bring myself to look at Dean...

"You know...i'm uh, not really hungry anymore" I said, handing him back the piece of fish.

"Kayleigh i'm sorry...I don't know what else to say" he said taking my hand in his.

"You don't have to say anything"

We sat in silence for a while, watching the rain from out the barn doors.

"...We should get some sleep. We have a long walk ahead of us..." he said suddenly letting go of my hand.

He grabbed his pack and placed it under his head, using it as a pillow and I did the same with mine. I laid on my side, my back to Dean so that he couldn't see the tears that rolled down my cheeks.

I probably wasn't going to be getting much sleep tonight.

It was still raining when we got up at dawn. Dean found an old tarp and cut it in half. We tied the tarp around our packs so that the rain wouldn't soak our things. We walked for miles, in the pouring rain and mud as we made our way towards Noblesville, Indiana. After Noblesville, we would make our way through Ohio. Then it's a quick trek through West Virginia until we make it into Maryland. Noblesville was one of the militias bases so we knew we would have to be extremely careful. But we also knew that to have any chance of making it through Ohio we had to make Noblesville a pitstop.

Ohio was known to be trouble. It was ridden in bandit groups that even the militia find to much trouble to do anything about. But going around Ohio would mean having to pass through Kentucky, which was Georgian territory. Dean decided it would be easier to just cross through Ohio as fast as we could. It wouldn't be safe but it was better than walking the long way around and taking the chance of crossing over the border.

We decided to rest before crossing the Ohio border and settled down in a small clearing. For the past few days I had noticed that Dean seemed to grow slower, letting me take the lead. Occasionally I caught him gripping his side...But I never said anything...which would turn out to be a mistake...

"I'll get the fire going if you want to wash up...I saw a stream back that way a bit" Dean said to me, pointing behind him.

"You saying i'm dirty? I'm still soaking wet from that storm"

"Yeah, but I could have sworn I saw a bird fly out of that nest you call a 'bun'"

"Oh ha ha" I said, grabbing the extra clothes from my pack and a tin cup, "at least I don't smell like wet dog"

He sniffed his shirt, and his face cringed.

"All right, too shay" he said.

As I walked past him, he gently grabbed my arm.

"Be careful"

"I know" I replied.

I made my way through the thick brush and to the stream. I placed my dry, clean clothes on a fallen tree and proceeded to take the soaking ones off. I stripped down to just my underwear and bra. Grabbing the tin cup, I slowly made my way to the water. I had to jump down into the deep, cavern like area where the water was following rapidly from all the rain. My feet hit the coarse, rocky bank of the creek. I hesitated before stepping in.

The water was freezing and it made me jump at the touch. I bent over, cupping my hands together I splashed the cold February water on my face. I unwrapped the band holding my hair in a bun and placed it on my wrist. Taking the tin cup I poured the water over my head. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to get out the knots and tangles. I rubbed off the dirt that caked my body, then threw one last splash of water on my face. I pushed myself back up from the stream and went to my clothes. I pulled on my light blue jean shorts and had to use my thick, black belt to hold them up. I grabbed the knife from my boot and stuck it in one of the belts loops. I pulled my thin, grey sweater over my head and sat down on the fallen tree. I started to pull on clean socks and my boots when I heard a noise behind me.

I stood up quickly, whipping my knife out from my belt. Something was moving in the brush, coming right towards me. I got my knife ready, but it was just Dean.

"Jesus Dean you scared me!" I said putting my knife away.

"Sorry, I just was making sure you were okay"

"I haven't been gone that long have I?"

"No...but you can never be too careful"

"You were worried about me" I said with a smirk.

"So what if I was?" He replied angrily.

"I...I didn't-"

I stopped and really looked at him.

There was something wrong with him, he looked worn and pale.

"Are you okay?" I asked going over to him.

"Yeah...yeah I uh, just need some sleep" he replied rubbing his forehead.

"Come on," I said grabbing my clothes, "lets go"

Dean got the fire going, taking the tarp from around my pack I placed it on the wet ground and set up my bed roll.

Dean was starting to do the same when he collapsed.

"Dean!"

I ran over to him.

I grabbed his shoulder and flipped him over onto his back.

"Dean!" I said trying to shake him awake.

"Kayleigh..."

He started to come around.

His body was shaking like crazy and his face was pale and sweaty.

"Can you walk? We can head to Lansing, it's only a few miles back the way we came. You can't stay out here like this"

"Yeah...yeah..." He sat up slowly, as I quickly gathered our things.

I took his pack and threw some of his stuff in mine to lessen the weight. I threw mine onto my back and then helped put his around him. I put his arm around my neck and helped him up. He had gotten sick and weak so fast, it scared me. I knew we would vulnerable if we stayed out here. Lansing was our only option. We made our way back to the main road and headed back west towards Lansing. Stopping several times along the way. Dean was getting worse and he was already moving so slowly. We were passing an old farm house when I stopped, and looked back at it...

Then I looked at Dean.

I didn't know how much further he could make it and if he collapses again I'm not strong enough to carry him. I turned us around and made our way to the farm house. I banged on the door...just to make sure no one was still living there, then when no answer came I kicked in the door.

Going through the door, I brought Dean up the steep stairs that faced it, hoping the house still contained furniture. I looked into several rooms before finding one that contained a bed. Putting Dean down on the bed, I took off his soaking wet boots, socks, jacket and his pants. I grabbed the covers and tucked them tight around him. His body was still shaking. I felt his forehead, he was burning up.

It didn't make sense. Only an hour ago he was completely fine, and now he was delirious and weak. I sat next to him, and just stared.

My mother was a doctor. She taught me everything she knew.

But I was frozen.

It scared me seeing him like this.

"Don't do this to me...don't leave me..." I said, over and over again as I stroked his forehead.

I felt tears building in my eyes as I watched him drift in and out. I reviewed his symptoms over and over again in my head.

His fever, the shaking and sweat, how it had over took him so quickly.

The only conclusion I could come to was an infection.

I pulled back the covers from around him. I pulled up his shirt, and immediately found the cause of his sudden sickness.

There was a large gash on his stomach. It was still open, dried blood caked his skin and the veins around it looked thin and strained. There was stitching but it had been poorly executed. It was definitely an infection.

And an infection that I don't think I could treat. I went through my pack, but I only had bandages and a tin can of salve that my mother showed me how to make from plants you could find anywhere. It would help...hopefully...I ripped the tin can of salve and bandages from my packs' front pocket and quickly brought it over to Dean. I took his shirt off, laughing to myself about how he would get a kick out of me taking his clothes off. I twisted off the top of the small tin can and placed it on the bed. Dipping my fingers into the cold, soft paste like medicine, I generously spread it over Deans wound.

I wiped my the excess salve onto my old shirt and wrapped the bandages around the wound and his body. I ripped up one of my clean shirts and wet it with water from one of our bottles. I placed it over his forehead, hoping it would help cool his body temperature. I looked out the window, and watched as the sun began to set. It was going to get cold, and Dean was already sick. I went around the house, finding as many spare blankets as I could and brought them back to wrap around Dean. I reapplied a new strip of wet cloth to his forehead then collapsed on the bed beside him.

I was sore and exhausted. I could already feel myself drifting off to sleep as I curled up next to him, pulling the mountain of blankets over the both of us.

I grabbed his hand in mine and intwined my other arm with his, holding on to him as tightly as I could.

"Goodnight Dean" I said as I felt myself falling asleep, his hand still tightly in mine.

It was two days before I saw any change.

It was early morning, just after the sun rose in the Indiana sky.

His temperature had gone down a great deal and I was lucky to not have had to leave him in search of ulterior medicine.

I can only assume that the trifecta of the open wound, the stress and exhausting walk we've had and the fact he did nothing to clean it made his body give out. I was applying a new bandage when he started to come around.

"Ugh, what happened?" He said, pulling the ripped shirt off his forehead.

His voice was hoarse from lack of water I could give him while he was passed out. I handed him a bottle,

"You have a bad infection" I told him without looking up, as I taped down his bandage to keep it in place.

He drank from it like he had never seen water before.

"Where are we? How long was I out for...where are my pants..."

"Still in Indiana, just a few miles from where we were when you started to feel sick. It's been almost three days. And I took them off you...You're welcome for saving your ass by the way...again"

"Are you yelling at me for being sick"

"You have a large gash on your side which you neglected to take care of. So yes this is kind of your fault"

"I didn't realize it was that bad"

"Dean, it's as long as my forearm and deep"

"Right sorry...thanks..."

"No I'm sorry, I'm tired...I'm just glad you're okay..."

"Yeah me too...So uh, are we going to get back to the fact that you took my pants off while I was unconscious?" He said smiling viciously, clearly he was already feeling better.

"Shut up" I replied, grabbing Deans clothes and throwing them at his face.

Except, I couldn't help but smile back at the normalcy of his banter.

He threw the covers off himself and moved so that his legs hung over the side of the bed.

He picked up his cargo pants and started to pull them on. Bending over, his face cringed at the pain of putting pressure on his side. He managed to pull up his pants and wrap his belt around. He had lost a lot of the weight he had finally gained back while in Chicago due to our low food rations.

"Maybe we should start hunting" I said, as I watched him cut an extra hole into his belt.

"We don't have time. We need to get to Annapolis...We'll manage"

"Dean, you were barely eating as it was and that fever took it out of you. You're going to need more food to keep up your strength...especially since we're going through Ohio"

He had finished tying his belt, now resting with his hand meekly over his wound. I lifted his light grey t-shirt from off the bed,

"Here, let me help"

"I don't need-"

"Dean don't argue with me"

And he didn't as I placed the top of the shirt over his head. Moving his arms gently and slowly, I stuck them through. Trying not to raise his arms too high and pull at the stitches in his wound.

"Thanks..." He said sounding generally appreciative, but also seeming embarrassed by the fact that he needed help.

"You're welcome" I replied softly.

I handed him some more water and what food I could give.

He accepted it with a half smile and we sat next to each other as we ate breakfast in silence.

"If we leave within the next hour we should hit Noblesville late in the evening " he suddenly spoke in between bites.

"You can't be serious" I said putting my bottle of water down,

"Dean you can't walk across the room without my help, let alone all the way to Noblesville"

"I'll be fine"

"No, you won't. Your side is still in bad shape, you're still getting over that fever. We aren't going anywhere till you've fully recovered"

"That could take days, that's time-"

"That we can't waste, I know. But i'm not going to let you walk to Noblesville, only to have you collapse again. We're staying"

"You can't force me to stay here" he said trying to take control of the situation.

"Well, considering the state you're in right now I'd bet I could" I replied staring him down.

"I hate this"

"I know...if you hadn't been-"

"So careless we wouldn't be in this situation...I know"

"Actually, I was going to say such a dumb ass but that works too"

"Gee, thanks" he said scoffing a laugh.

"Anytime" I replied with a big smile.

"This won't be some kind of 'Misery' thing will it? Crazed, obsessed girl takes advantage of helpless injured man" he asked, as I grabbed our now empty water bottles.

"How do you even know that book. Monroe had men burn down most of the libraries. Didn't want people getting ideas about other Revolutions you know" I said.

"How do you?" He asked, just as amazed as I was.

"Steven King was my mom's favorite author. She use to read his books to me and my brothers"

"I figured you for more of a Hunger Games type"

"Hunger what?"

"Hunger Games? You know, girl is forced to fight to the death against other kids. Then starts a revolt against the government that forces them to do so, it was very popular before the blackout...You seem like a Katniss to me"

"What? I seem like Catnip to you?"

"No Katniss...never mind, I tried"

"All right well...I'm going to refill these...be back in 20" I said, raising the water bottles up.

"Great, I'll come with you"

"Ah, I don't think so. You're on bed rest till I say otherwise...Didn't we just have this discussion a minute ago"

"I'm not letting you go alone"

"Okay one, I can take care of myself. I'm pretty sure we've had that conversation already before as well. And second, i'm not letting you come along when you are still on injured reserve...Do you really want to continue this argument again because I think we both know who's going to win"

"Fine," he said leaning back against the pillows,

"Bring your bow, it'll make me feel better if you do"

"Of course, wasn't going to go without it...Didn't know you could get so worried about me Winchester"

"Well, Catnip you are currently my nurse, so of course I am" he said smirking.

I rolled my eyes when he called me catnip. I grabbed his sword and brought it over to him.

"Just in case" I said.

He placed it at his side and underneath the blanket.

I walked to the door, grabbing my bow and quiver as I did.

As I was closing the door behind me, I took a last glance at Dean.

He was watching me as well.

Concern spread across his thin face as the door clicked shut.

I made my way down the road at a run, making my way back to the stream.

Catching my breath, I knelt down next to the stream.

I splashed my face with the cold water once more, before filling up the bottles, then headed back to the house.

As I was reaching for the door knob, I saw something that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Coming around the long bend of the road along the forest, heading straight for us was militia. From what I could see there was at least a dozen soldiers. They were being led by a man on a short bay horse. He was wearing the signature green jacket with the brown trimming. He was a higher ranking officer than the blue uniformed soldiers. A wagon followed the man on the horse. A blonde haired boy was sitting among a few boxes of supplies in the wagon. I couldn't tell much more than that because I practically rolled into the room before they saw me. I bounded up the stairs and sprinted down the hall to Dean.

"Hey did you get the water?" Dean asked, confused by my out of breath panic.

I didn't answer him, I just grabbed all our things and threw them inside the tiny closet, that was hidden by the main door while it was open.

"Kayleigh, slow down!"

Dean had gotten up, coming to me he grabbed me by the shoulders as I was locking the door to the room.

"Speak. Use words, you do know how to do that?" He said slowly.

"Militia-" was all I could say because as soon as I did he grabbed my hand and pulled me to the window.

We got down low, peeking over just enough that we could see the road.

"Maybe they won't even check out the house...maybe they'll just pass by" I said as they got closer.

"We can't take the chance" Dean replied.

We watched as they came up to the house. They seemed like they were going to pass, when the high ranking officer suddenly stopped the parade of soldiers.

He looked towards the house.

Dean grabbed my arm, pulling me on top of him as he fell on to the floor.

"Did he see us?" I whispered.

"I don't know..."

He had one arm propping himself up, but the other was now wrapped around my waist.

We were so close that our noses were practically touching.

"Maybe...we should hide...just in case" Dean whispered, his warm breath brushing my cheek.

"Yeah...right..."

But neither of us moved.

I felt his hand move up to my back as he leaned in.

I could swear he was about to-

But my thoughts were interrupted by a loud crashing sound coming from downstairs.

I jumped back, making sure not to be seen from the window. Dean grabbed my hand again, as we crawled past the window and made our way to the closet.

We moved slowly, trying not to make any noise as we moved across the old floorboards. The closet could just barely fit us along with our packs. There was no room to sit so we were packed like sardines, trying not to move because if we did you could hear the creaking from the wooden floor boards. We heard the boots of the soldiers stomping through the house as they searched the house. Dean carefully shut the closet door and moved as far back as he could with me. There was a slant in the floor near the back, I slid back into Dean when I stepped backwards onto it.

Luckily he caught me, just so that my feet hit his instead of the floor. He cringed as my boots hit his bare feet.I turned my face up at him with an apologetic look, but it was too dark for him to see. The soldiers boots pounded up the stairs. I gripped Deans arms and buried my face in his shirt.

He wrapped his arms around me and we froze in place, listening to the boots stomp closer and closer to the room. I remembered Deans tattoo...if they found us they would kill me on the spot and take Dean in for...questioning...I was shaking just at the thought of what they would do to him. He wrapped his arms tighter around me and I shut my eyes, praying that they wouldn't look in the closet.

"This one's locked sir"

"Then kick it down"

It must have only taken one kick since the door suddenly swung back, banging into the closet door.

We listened for boots but they didn't come into the room.

"Empty, like the others" said the man who seemed to be in charge.

"MOVE OUT!" I heard him yell through out the house.

As we listened to them stomp back down the stairs and out the door, both me and Dean gave huge sighs of relief.

"That was close,"

Dean laughed out of relief.

"Are you okay, I could feel you shaking" he said.

"Yeah I'm fine" I replied, letting go of his arms.

He went to the closet door, slowly opening it he went out looking around the room.

I followed, picking up our things and bringing them out as well.

He went over to the window, staying to the side he peeked out.

"They're leaving"

"Dean you're bleeding" I said.

"Oh hey, look at that" he said looking down and seeing the thick, red patch covering the side of his shirt. I ran over to him and helped him sit down on the floor.

"Your stitches ripped" I said, lifting his shirt up, "here lie back"

I grabbed my pack and took out my sewing kit.

He took his shirt off, handing it to me I used it to wipe away the blood around the gash then tossed it aside.

"I guess you were right about needing another day or two" he said as I started to stitch him up.

"Yeah and now probably three"

I finished the stitches and applied some salve and a new bandage.

I helped him up and back over to the bed. He leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes. I sat down on the bed beside him, staring out the window across from the bed.

"All right, what's bothering you" Dean asked without opening his eyes.

"Its that boy...They...They had him shackled to the wagon like an animal...He was beaten and thin...he looked about my age...I just-"

Dean sat up, scooting himself closer.

"You can't save everyone"

"I could have done something...I should have done something..."

"There was nothing we could have done for him. You can't do that Kayleigh, you can't feel guilty for something you had no control over"

"I feel guilty because had it been a few months ago, I would have tried to help him. Not sit in a closet and hide"

"Why then, why not help him"

"Because it's not just me anymore, I have you...and I couldn't put that at risk"

"I'm sorry"

"I'm not...not really" I said with a half smile.

I turned to look at him, even slouching he still sat taller than me.

He was watching me with the most inquisitive look.

"What?"

"Nothing"

He went back to leaning against the pillows and once again closed his eyes. I thought about when we first met.

How far we had come together. And I couldn't help but think about what it's going to be like as a rebel. My life since my family had died has just been trying to survive, one day at a time. And now I was going to be fighting the very people i've been trying to avoid my entire life.

I got up, and moving to the other side of the bed I plopped down next to Dean.

Before I knew it, I fell fast asleep...

Dreaming of a red, white and blue flag being set a flame, as men laid lifeless on a bloody field.

I awoke to a small clicking sound near my head.

I opened my eyes and found a gun staring me in the face.

"Get up slowly" the man holding the weapon said.

The sky was just starting to darken, but there was still enough light for me to see that the man was the militia officer from earlier today.

I raised my hands, slowly sitting up in bed. I looked over to where Dean was and he was awake, already sitting up with his hands in the air.

And like me, a gun pointed at his head.

"Go on, get up" he said again.

We both pushed back the covers and stood up without saying a word.

Two more soldiers came over, padding us down they searched for any weapons on us.

They pulled a knife from Deans pocket and the one from my boot.

Then they grabbed our packs, Deans sword and my bow. Pushing the guns against our backs they led us out of the house.

I looked back at Dean, he must have put a shirt on while I was sleeping because his now bare skin and rebel tattoo were covered by light blue cotton.

I gave a small, hidden sigh of relief. Hopefully they wouldn't be smart enough to check...

They pushed us to the ground, onto our knees, as the head officer moved to stand in front of us.

He was maybe in his late forties, he had dark skin and dark hair shaped in a military buzz cut. He took off the dark round sunglasses from his eyes and stuck them into the pocket of his militia jacket.

He gave a coy smile, looking me and Dean over.

"I thought I smelled rats" he said, laughing with the other soldiers.

"so why may I ask, would you two need to hide from militia"

"If you call lying in a bed hiding, then I guess we kind of suck at it" Dean said to the man, "I don't know what you think, but we only entered that house less than an hour ago. We were tired and there was a bed. So I ask you whats so wrong that you feel the need to drag us out here and treat us like criminals"

"I see your point. But I could have sworn there were people hiding here earlier..." He replied, turning his dark eyes curiously towards me.

"We're citizens of the Monroe Republic, just trying to get to Virginia"

"And what may I ask is in Virginia" he asked, still watching me.

"My girlfriend," Dean said nodding his head at me, "She's pregnant. She has family there and wanted to be with them when the baby comes"

"Well then I guess I should be giving my congratulations Miss...When are you due" he asked me, clearly still suspicious of Deans story.

"September, maybe October...At least thats what our previous village doctor thought"

"And where was that"

"Indianapolis" I said without hesitation.

He nodded, a curious smile spreading across his face.

"You know it's funny, I have a kid of my own, a boy. I remember when my wife was pregnant with him...She had a glow about her. Most pregnant woman do...Except you...you don't seem like the mothering type...No offense" the officer said to me.

"None taken...But you know how it works...things happen...not really much you can do about it" I replied.

"Right, right of course...There's one more thing. Most couples when they sleep, they sleep next to each other. Pretty close too. But you two, when we found you sleeping on that bed you were so far a part that you both could have easily fallen off the edge"

"Can you blame me? The bastard got me knocked up"

I could see Dean shaking, trying to hold in his laughter.

The officer laughed as well,

"I guess that's reasonable"

But he still didn't seem completely convinced of our story.

"Well, we're heading to Philly...Why don't you walk with us the rest of the way. I'm sure it'll be easier on your girlfriend here if she's pregnant. And I assume that if you're here you were planning to go through Ohio? It can be dangerous through there, we can offer protection" he said trying to appeal to Dean.

"No thanks, we can manage well enough on our own" Dean said.

"Fair enough...But its getting dark and my boys here are tired...So you wouldn't mind if we bunker down with you for the night. The house is large enough we won't get in your way"

"Of course" Dean said, not wanting to give them reason to be any more suspicious or to refuse someone who controlled the guns pointed at us.

"Lt. Marks please bring this lovely couples' bags back to their room"

"Yes sir"

A young man came over, picking up our packs and headed back into the house. The officer grabbed Deans sword and slightly hesitated before handing it back to him. Dean got to his feet and accepted it, staring the man down. Then Dean came over to me, gently lifting me from the ground by my arm and wrapping it arm around me. I felt his hand on my back, guiding me closer to him.

"Are you all right, they didn't hurt you when they dragged us out here did they?" He whispered.

"No, I'm fine"

I smiled up at him, he smiled back then turned his attention back on the men. He glared, showing his hatred of the soldiers and officers. Dean guided me back up the porch steps and into the house, I looked back as a soldier pulled the boy from the wagon. Something about him seemed so familiar...But I couldn't place why...

"Kayleigh" Dean said, pulling my attention away from the boy, "Come on"

We walked back to our room. Dean closed and locked the door,

"That was close" he said moving slowly over to the bed and lying back.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just my cut" he replied.

I sat down next to him,

"You know...You never told me how it happened"

"Yeah I know"

"So thats it, suddenly I have to pretend to be your pregnant girlfriend and you can't tell me about the thing that almost got you killed" I said quietly, but firmly.

He sat up, gazing at me intently,

"I only said that to make sure they wouldn't hurt you"

"I don't need you to protect me"

"I wan't going to take the chance...I had to come up with something and it was the first thing that popped in my head. So, i'm sorry for caring"

"And that's all i'm doing" I replied, gesturing to his wound.

He didn't say anything, he wouldn't look at me anymore.

"It was back in Chicago right? You said that you'd be right back when you went to get your stuff"

"Yeah so"

"You were gone for two hours. I don't know but i'm pretty sure it doesn't take that long to pack a bag of clothes"

"Just leave it alone Kayleigh"

"And what if I won't"

He suddenly grabbed my arm tightly.

But I didn't flinch, I just stared him right in the face. I had never seen him like this before. It didn't scare me as much as worry me.

Instead of pushing his arm away, I took my free hand and put it to his cheek. Stroking my thumb over his surprisingly soft skin.

"You don't have to do that"

"Do what" he asked softly, despite his still tight grip on my arm.

"Push me away" I whispered.

He looked up at me now, his deep grey-blue eyes staring back into mine.

Someone one knocked at the door, making me jump. I went over to the door and slowly opened it.

It was the head officer, the one who interrogated us earlier.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I forgot to introduce myself...I'm Major Tom Neville" he said reaching out a hand.

"Kayleigh" I replied returning his grip.

"Dean" Dean said, still sitting on the bed.

"You know," he said pushing himself into the room.

As he did I could see several soldiers outside the room...wielding their guns close...

"It's funny, you said you came from Indianapolis...but one my soldiers could have sworn he saw you in Chicago a little over a week ago"

"He must have been mistaken"

"No I don't think so...Jason!" He yelled out the door.

In seconds a boy was walking into the room...That's when I realized we were screwed. It was the boy Nate, who Miles had caught as a militia spy. Dean stood up trying to get to me, and Major Neville pulled his gun and pointed it in my direction.

"Now, how about you tell me who you really are"

We both stood in silence.

"Search the him more throughly this time" Neville said with a smirk.

Two men filed in, one holding Dean back as the other padded him down once again. Then they stripped his shirt...to which they found his rebel tattoo...My heart nearly stopped as Neville came over to inspect it.

"A rebel, I thought so. You seemed like the type...This will be fun" he said viciously.

The two soldiers searching Dean started beating on him and bad.

"No!" I screamed, but Nate...or Jason...held me back.

"Don't fight...they'll just beat on him worse" he whispered in my ear.

With in seconds Dean was bloody and bruised. And the soldiers made sure to hit his wound several times during the beating. His stitches now open again, his wound, face and chest bleeding, Dean fell over onto the floor.

"So you want to talk now" Neville said to me.

I could feel the tears build in my eyes, but I held them in and nodded.

"Good...Put him in cuffs and stick him with Danny Boy...Me and Kayleigh are going to have a talk"

The soldiers had dragged Dean away, so that it was just me and Neville left in the room.

"You aren't going to tie me up"

"I have a feeling you'll cooperate with me since we have your boyfriend"

He gestured for me to sit, so of course I didn't.

"What's your name"

"Kayleigh...Evans"

"Kayleigh Evans?"

"Yes"

"Well, how about that"

He seemed so pleased with himself and he hadn't even asked me anything yet...except my name.

"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to change your travel plans Miss Evans...You'll be coming to Philly with us"


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4: Kayleigh**

The handcuff constraining me to the wagon was digging into my skin. Blood slowly trickled down my right wrist and onto the floor of the wagon. It was just after dawn, we had been on the road for at least a day...To be honest I wasn't entirely sure...My cheeks were still wet from the tears that had been running down my face. My eyes were red and dry, unable to produce any more tears.

I looked towards the back of the wagon. Past the soldiers that followed it, and down the road.

I looked back, but could no longer see the house. We had travelled so far already.

I caught the blonde haired boy's eye.

He had been watching me since we left the farm house.

"Staring is rude you know" I told him.

"Sorry" he said looking away.

"What's your name" I asked.

"Danny...Danny Matheson"

"Matheson?"

"Yeah, why..."

"I know your uncle Miles...and I guess your sister...Charlie right?"

"How do-"

"Chicago. I was working for Miles, your sister came looking for him...I'm sorry, I don't know what happened to them"

I looked back down the road, somehow believing that every time I did I would see him, running behind us, coming to rescue me.

"I'm sorry...about your boyfriend" Danny said.

"He wasn't my boyfriend" I replied softly without looking away from the road.

The last I saw of Dean, the soldiers were dragging him back into the farm house...As Neville put it, they needed to 'take care of him'.

But not until they interrogated him on whatever knowledge he had on the rebels. So Neville had three of his soldiers to stay behind until Sgt. Strauss got there. They had sent a runner, and I heard Neville say he probably wouldn't get there for several days...

Sgt. Strauss.

He was one militia soldier you don't ever want to meet...Maybe more than Monroe himself. I met him three years ago...

My brothers were rebels. Fought for the old America, they actually remembered it. My oldest brother Zach, was twelve when the world plunged into darkness and my other brother, Josh, was ten. My mothers death broke my father. He spent his days at the local bar drowning himself in liquor, so it was my brothers who took care of me. But after my brothers left to fight, it was just me and my father. He saw bits of my mother in me; when I played the piano, the way I laughed or the way I smiled...which just made him hate me more than love me. One day, my brothers came home. It was strange since the rebels never seemed to stop fighting. They had grown so much since I last saw them, I had barely recognized them. And it wasn't just the facial hair or muscles from constant training or fighting. Zach's right arm had been amputated all the way up to his shoulder and Josh had scars all over his chest and back.

They had been through so much, things they would never tell me. They were home for only one night...

Thats when I lost everything...

"All right boys! Twenty minutes till we continue on!"

Neville's voice and the sudden stop of the wagon jolted me back to reality.

Jason walked over to me and Danny, with two small tin cups in his hands.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get you more" he said to me.

I ignored him, refusing to take the water he was offering me.

"You need to drink. Even in this cold weather, spend a long amount of time under the sun and you can still get dehydrated" said Jason.

"Then i'll die of dehydration"

"Here," Jason said handing my cup of water to Danny, "maybe you can get her to drink it"

"I highly doubt that" Danny replied.

Jason handed it to him anyway then left us, walking over to Major Neville.

"He's right though...you need to drink the water" Danny said to me.

"Can I ask you a question"

"Only if you drink this"

"Fine," I said taking the cup and chugging the water,

"Why do they have you as a prisoner...no offense but you don't look like you're worth keeping alive"

"Okay, ouch"

"Sorry, but you're no rebel. So they obviously took you because you did something to piss Major Neville off. But then they would just shoot you in the head...So why keep you alive"

"I have no idea"

"All right, don't tell me"

"No really...I don't know. They wanted to take my father away. I tried to stop them, and in the process my father got shot...He died. Then they grabbed me instead"

"I'm sorry..."

"ALL RIGHT BOYS, LETS MOVE OUT!" Neville yelled from atop his horse.

The wagon jerked forward, as the soldier whipped the two horses into a walk. The sudden jolt tugged at my hand cuff, making it dig deeper into my skin. I cringed, biting my lip from the pain. I leaned back against the side of the wagon and closed my eyes. I just wanted this to be over...I let Miles stay in Chicago. I let him sit and drink. I left him to wait for his death. Then I did the same to Dean. I don't know what possessed me to want to got to Annapolis with him and become a rebel. But I do know if I hadn't he'd probably be making his way through Ohio...Not waiting around for the bullet thats now been marked for him...And God only knows what those soldiers will do to Dean for fun, until Strauss gets there...

I've killed them both.

And neither of them deserve it. After all they've done for me...this is what they get...

I deserve to be a prisoner.

I don't deserve to be saved.

I deserve that slow death of dehydration.

Truth is I thought I would get myself killed a long time ago...

The bright orange sun started to set behind the trees. Neville stopped his caravan of soldiers and horses and we made camp for the night.

They kept me and Danny shackled inside the wagon. They threw old, moldy bread at us, while they drank and ate around a warm fire. They had taken my pack, so I was only left with the loose jean shorts I was wearing and luckily my grey sweater...Not that it was much help against the forty degree and below nights.

I couldn't lie down because the short chain of the cuffs would dig into my skin even more. So I leaned back against the side of the wagon again and tried to get some sleep.

But my nightmares wouldn't let me.

•It was no longer the woman bleeding out in the driveway...

But Dean, lying in a pool of his own blood•

I woke up.

Sitting up, I wiped the tears from my eyes. I tried to keep my mind away from my dreams...I didn't understand, why were they bothering to keep me alive?

Maybe they were bringing me and Danny to one of those brainwashing militia training camps. There were rumors that any orphan teens found alone would be snatched up by militia and taken to some place to be trained into soldiers...From what I heard it was torture. And the locations were impossible to escape from, they'd rather just shoot the kid with a sniper rifle then bother to try and recapture them.

"Are you okay?" Danny whispered.

"I'm fine"

"No you're not"

"Why ask a question you already know the answer too"

"I was hoping you'd be honest"

I laughed,

"I don't know you well enough to want to be honest with you"

"Fair enough...How long did it take for you to open up to Dean"

"My relationship with him is none of your business...Say his name again and i'll break your fingers"

Danny didn't say more.

I could tell by his face that he knew I wasn't lying about breaking his fingers. He laid back on the floor of the wagon, turning to his side so that his back was to me. I looked around the fire the soldiers had made. They were all lying on the ground; sound asleep. I could see Major Neville's tent from the wagon. The darkness of his tent made me hopeful that he too was fast asleep. I reached into my shirt with my Un-cuffed hand and pulled out the hair pin. Sticking it into the lock of the handcuffed I fiddled with it until I heard the small clicking sound. I slipped off the cuffs and looked around the camp, just to make sure the soldiers were still sleeping. I slowly made my way to Danny.

"Danny," I whispered, touching his shoulder.

He turned around to look up at me,

"What the hell-"

"Shush!" I whispered harshly.

"Kayleigh, how did you-"

"Will you sit up, please"

He did as I told, watching me intently as I took the hair pin and started to pick the lock on his own cuffs. Going slower than usual because I was constantly looking up to make sure the soldiers were still sleeping. When Danny was able to slip the cuffs off, he quietly made his way off the wagon. I grabbed my pack from the front of the wagon and followed him, also moving as quietly as possible. As soon as we hit the tree line we made a run for it. I wasn't really sure where we were going. All I cared about was getting as far from the militia as possible. The only thing that seemed important was surviving...but I was starting to think that even that didn't matter anymore...At least not to me. We both started to slow, losing that boost of adrenaline we had when we first escaped. It had been an hour, maybe two...We had gotten far, but who knows the exact amount...

"We were a few hours from Noblesville from where they camped" Danny said suddenly as we were trying to catch our breath,

"That's where they were headed. I'm going in the opposite direction. Back to Chicago. You're welcome to join me...Unless you have somewhere else to be"

"You're from Chicago?" I asked.

"Small village a few hours outside it"

"I appreciate the offer...But i'm heading to Annapolis. It was Deans...it was our plan and i'm going to stick with it"

"Annapolis? You'll be taking the same road as militia band we just escaped from. You'll have to take the long way around just to make sure you avoid them. That'll be dangerous by yourself, especially since you have no weapon"

"Why does everyone think i'm some lost little puppy? I can take care of myself, weapon or no weapon"

I started walking away. Making my way back east, but far enough away from the direction of the soldiers who have probably realized our disappearance.

"Wait!" Danny yelled.

I turned around to see the blonde haired, blue eyed boy running after me.

"I'm coming with you" he said, catching up.

"You've got to be joking" I scoffed, throwing him an uncertain glance.

"He was a rebel...you guys were going to a rebel base right? At least thats what Neville believed...luckily he didn't find out exactly where. I'm actually a bit surprised he didn't try to. I want to fight" he said. His face was hard like stone, he was being serious.

"Why"

"They killed my father...And it was my fault. What more motivation could I need then that"

"All right...I understand"

"So I can come with you"

"I won't stop you if you do...Just be sure its what you want to do before we get all the way to Maryland"

"It's what I want"

"Okay then...but we have to take a quick detour"

He stared blankly at me,

"You don't know if he's still alive"

"Neville said Strauss wouldn't get there for another few days. We can make it to the house by lunch today...You're right they might have killed him already...but he could also still be alive. I have to get him back...I have to try"

I thought about that day again.

The day my brothers came home.

The day I lost everything.

I remember every little detail of that day. I was wearing my mothers pink knitted sweater. I hate pink.

But I wore that thing all the time. I could still smell her lavender perfume on it whenever I bundled it around me. It was late afternoon, I was playing in the street with a neighbor. She was just a little girl, only six years old. I remember looking up, and seeing the two men as they were making their way up the old dirt road to our little, forest surrounded village. The sun made it hard to see at first but as they grew closer, walking a straight line right for me, I realized who they were I ran to them. I jumped into Zach's arms, wrapping my own tightly around his neck. I could see Josh behind him, with the biggest smile. After nearly choking poor Zach, I let go then did the same to Josh.

"I missed you so much!" I said to them as we made our way back up the road.

"We missed you too squirt" Zach said, ruffling my already messy brown hair.

We made our way back to the little white farm house we grew up in.

Dad wasn't home.

I could only guess he was at the bar. The one place he spent more time at then sleeping in his own bed. I spent the rest of the evening with them. We spent most of the time laughing, joking around, reminiscing about old, almost forgotten memories. As much as I laughed and smiled with them I couldn't peel my eyes from Zach's missing arm...or Josh's scars, especially one that I could see protruding from under his shirt collar, almost going all the way up his neck.

They caught me staring, but they never said anything...and I never asked...I knew better then that. Darkness started to spread, as the sun disappeared behind the trees. I let them sleep, while I prepared dinner. Dad still hadn't come home yet. But that wasn't unusual. It wasn't until I woke up early the next morning to find that he had never come home. I was about to tell Zach when I heard a loud string of bullets from out in the streets. I ran to the window and saw militia soldiers making their way through the village. It was the first time I saw Sgt. Strauss.

He was leading the band of soldiers into the village. But what scared me more was the fact that they were shooting off their guns randomly. Right into the groups of people who had gathered to watch the soldiers march up the road. They shot into the small groups, bullets flying everywhere. Hitting men, woman and even children as people wildly tried to flee back into their homes. I watched in horror as several bullets hit Annie, the little girl I had been playing with the day before. I was about to scream when I felt a hand fly over my mouth,

"Don't make a sound"

It was josh, he had come up behind me and pulled me away from the window.

"Grab your bow and your pack. Fill it with clothes, food, anything you can grab. Do it quick...NOW!"

I did as he said, and ran back to our front living room. Josh and Zach were standing by the window facing our front yard. The blinds covered all the windows, and they were constantly peeking out.

"Kayleigh, you need to go out the back. Make your way through the yard into the woods. Head East towards Damascus"

"What about-"

"Kayleigh go now!" Zach yelled.

I looked at them, they were both holding guns.

"But you have to come with me!" I yelled.

"Kayleigh they're looking for you! We can hold them off, but you have to go now!" Josh said, as he grabbed my shoulders and tried to push me towards the back door.

To this day I still don't know why all this happened. All I know is when I reached the woods I looked back.

I watched as militia soldiers led my brothers from our house. They pushed them to the ground in front of Strauss. It was hard to tell what was being said...but within seconds Strauss pulled a gun and shot Josh in the head. I fell to the ground, screaming into my hand, tears flowing rapidly down my face. I watched in pain as the blood trickled out of his head and soaked the dirt road. Then Strauss turned his gun to Zach...I couldn't watch him die...so I ran...I ran as fast as I could...

I made my way into the city. It wasn't much for the outskirts of Maryland but it was big enough that I would be able to pass through unnoticed. I made my way into the local bar, hoping militia would leave without coming into town. I wanted to go back and properly bury Zach and Josh...knowing militia they probably just left the dead on the ground. Within less then an hour of being there, people were already buzzing about what happened in our small community. Someone had escaped and made their way here to warn people, he was talking to a group of men who were sitting around the bar. That's where I officially heard Strauss's name. The man mentioned how he recognized the leader as Sgt. Strauss. A man Monroe acquired for his brutal force and skills in the area of tracking and torture. I kept my head down, staying far away but close enough to listen. I was there for about another hour. I had changed out of my moms pink sweater and into my grey hoodie and black leather jacket. I had decided to hang around for another hour when the worst possible person walked through the bars front door.

Sgt. Strauss, followed by a few of his men.

"We're looking for a Michael Evans...We were told we could find him here" Strauss said looking around the room.

I stayed just out of sight, sinking behind the group of men who had just been talking about the Lt.

"I'm Michael Evans"

I recognized my fathers voice. I hadn't even realized he was in the bar.

"We're are looking for your daughter, we tracked her here from your house...we were hoping you'd know where in town she's hiding"

"Sorry I don't have a daughter" my father replied.

I heard a loud gun shot.

People started to run to the front doors in a panic, trying to leave the bar but the militia blocked them.

I took advantage of the chaos and ran into the back bathroom and climbed out the window.

My father...the man who I thought didn't care about me, just died to protect me...

I didn't know if it scared me more than it confused me, the fact that Strauss, the man known for his skills in torture, had decided to kill my father and brothers rather then take them in for questioning...They seemed to be going through a lot of trouble to find me.

"We should stay off the main road as much as possible"

Danny's voice jerked me back to reality,

"Do you do that a lot?" He asked.

"Do what?"

"Zone out...Have you even listened to a thing i've said?"

"You were talking?"

"Come on, your mind seems to be constantly somewhere else. What's going on with you"

"Just remembering"

"What"

"Why i'm doing this...Going to Annapolis, becoming a rebel"

"So what did you come up with"

"Same as you...I'm doing it for my family"

He just nodded, as we continued to walk through the Indiana woods.

We made it to the farm house late in the afternoon. We stayed hidden in the woods, but close enough we could scope out the house.

We were there for at least an hour, but saw no militia soldiers or movement of any kind.

"Kayleigh...what if this is some kind of trap.. Neville's smart, he'd know you'll try and rescue Dean"

"I don't think anyones there. The only tracks are the ones we made when we left the other day. If they had come back we'd see the tracks of horses, men and the wagon on the road"

"Maybe...Lets wait till night fall, just in case they are hiding out in there. We can use the cover of darkness to go around the house, go in through the back door"

We settled down into the woods, waiting for darkness to come.

I took off my pack and placed it on the ground, sitting down I leaned up against a tree.

"I'll keep watch, go ahead and get some sleep" I told Danny.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah"

He seemed unsure, but leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes anyway.

I would look back at the house every few minutes, just to check for sign of the soldiers or Dean.

As soon as the sun went down, I woke up Danny. We waited, watching the house for a few more moments. Waiting to see if light from candles would appear in the windows.

But nothing happened. We slowly made our way out of the woods and around to the back of the house.

We looked through the window, but didn't see anything. I grabbed the door handle, the old hinges creaked and squealed as I pushed it open.

The back room we entered was the kitchen, I started to make my way into the hall way when Danny stopped me.

"Hold on" Danny whispered.

I turned around, he carefully started going through some of the cabinets and pulled out a large kitchen knife.

He took position in front of me as we moved down the hall, the old boards creaking loudly with every step.

We split up and searched all over the house, but no one was here.

I was standing in the door way of the bedroom me and Dean had used.

"I'm sorry Kayleigh...they're gone" Danny said coming up to me.

"Lets get out of here" I said, closing the door to the room.

"Maybe we should stay here tonight...You look like you could use some sleep and there's no point in finding a place to camp now"

"What if they come back"

"I'm not so sure they will...Not tonight at least"

"We shouldn't sleep at the same time...just in case"

"You go ahead" he said nodding to the bedroom door I had just closed.

"Hey Danny"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming with me...to find Dean"

"You are the reason I escaped in the first place. I should be the one thanking you"

I smiled at him, he walked back down the hall and took position at the top of the stairs.

As I pushed the door back, not entirely closing it, the smile faded from my face.

I couldn't get my mind away from Dean and what could have happened to him. Danny was right, this could've easily been a trap. They could have killed Dean a long time ago...I couldn't forgive myself if I had made my way to Annapolis while Dean was still here being tortured...I needed to make sure...

And now that I have, I don't feel any better about what happened...I crawled into the bed. I moved my hand over the spot where Dean had slept while he was sick. I tried to remember what it felt like to be so close to him.

I drifted off to sleep as tears ran down my cheeks.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5: Dean**

•2 days ago•

I watched as they dragged the girl away and handcuffed her inside the wagon. She was screaming and fighting the whole way. She even drew blood from one of the militia soldiers when she bite him on the arm. They underestimated her in every possible way, Kayleigh's a fighter.

Despite her small physique, she's pretty tough. Any other day I would have laughed at the fact that she was giving them such a hard time, that it took four guys just to restrain her. But it didn't seem funny, not now with the multiple guns pointed at my head. I don't know what scared me more.

The torture waiting for me or what General Monroe himself wanted with Kayleigh. The wagon started to roll forward as Neville moved his band of men onward. Luckily for me, he left three rather large militia soldiers to babysit. The tall, curly haired man who Neville referred to as Lt. Jacobs, was left in charge until the infamous Sgt. Strauss got here.

"If I were you boy, I would worry about yourself and not the little bitch. She's going to be getting V.I.P treatment compared to what's coming for you" Lt. Jacobs said, as he towered over me.

I ignored him as I watched Kayleigh grow smaller as they made their way further down the road. I would never see her again. For the first time in a long time I had it again...Something worth fighting for...She was worth fighting for.

And I lost her.

After all she had done for me. She rescued me from that service station. She nursed me back to health when I got sick. I owed her everything...

So they can hit me with everything they've got...I already failed the only person that mattered to me. They dragged me back into the house. I could just barely see Kayleigh as the wagon disappeared around the bend of trees. They dragged me into what must have been used as the living room, but was now empty. They kept me handcuffed as Lt. Jacobs shoved me down onto the floor. He rolled up his sleeves, laughing to himself as he did,

"I'm going to enjoy this"

My eyes opened slightly.

Everything was blurred.

I couldn't focus on anything for too long due to the blinding pain that was shooting through my head. Wiping the blood from my face I gathered myself. My headache didn't go away, but it wasn't as bad. Once my eyes began focusing again, I could see the militia soldiers that were ordered to guard me through the window. They were out lounging on the front porch. They seemed distracted by their own lazy incompetence to notice me attempting an escape. Pulling a nail from a loose floorboard, I started to pick the lock of my cuffs. After picking the lock, I watched the soldiers. They were still oblivious to what was going on in the room right next to them. I made my way slowly down the hall towards the back of the house. I went through the kitchen and out the back door. It was a large open area and the road before the stretch of woods. There was no way I could make it to the woods without the soldiers seeing me. I looked around for any hiding place. There was a small double door, leading to what must be a cellar underneath the house. I went over to it but there was a padlock and long, heavy chain sealing my way from getting in. I could hear one of the soldiers shouting from inside the house. They had realized I escaped.

I panicked, looking for somewhere to hide. I spotted a window low to the ground behind one of the old shrubs. I ran to it and jimmied it open. I slipped into the cellar and blocked the window with an old wooden board. Moving further into the dark cellar, I could hear the pounding of the three pairs of boots as they ran through the house. The sounds of the boots dispersed as the soldiers ran to search for me outside. I knew they would head to the woods, believing I would make a run for it. Little did they know I had been hiding right under their feet. I knew that as militia soldiers they would rather desert their positions then have to face Neville,(or even Monroe), for letting a rebel prisoner escape. Reaching for the lighter I kept in my back pants pocket, I flicked the rusty dial. The flame flickered slightly before it grew bright enough for me to see. I found a lantern hanging from a support beam of the house. I tried lighting it but it was out of oil. I walked around the walls of the cellar. Finding more windows like the one I had come in from, I removed some of the debris blocking them. It let just enough light in for me to move around safely in the large room. Which wouldn't have been difficult since it was mostly empty except for a few old wood boards lying here and there. I waited for what felt like several hours, I could see the light dimming as the sun made it's way down closer to the horizon. I didn't think the soldiers were coming back. Either they made a run for it to save their own asses, or they were feeling noble and decided to warn Neville.

And they would be right to do so, since the first thing i'm going to do when its safe enough to travel is go rescue Kayleigh.

Sinking to the floor, I could feel that I not only had a bloody beaten to hell face, but several fractured or broken ribs...I didn't really know the difference between the two...

With my sudden rush of adrenaline from escaping gone, I now felt the full extent of my bruising, sore and broken body. I was never good at the doctor stuff. Something I now realize I should have appreciated from Kayleigh...I drifted off, a mix cause of both pain and exhaustion...

•She walked through a pair of blindingly white double doors. Running to me, she threw her arms around my neck. I embraced her, throwing my own around her waist and sweeping her off her feet. She laughed, pulling away but not letting go entirely. She flashed a bright smile my way. Just looking into her green eyes was enough to pull me in. My lips met hers swiftly and she ran her fingers through my hair and down the back of my neck. My hands moved all over her body...as much as she'd let me...Our lips pulled away, but our bodies didn't. I could feel the tip of her nose, brush up against my neck. She pressed her lips to my cheek gently. Then she whispered something in my ear I had wanted to hear since the day militia ripped her from my arms...•

My eyes shot open.

It wasn't real... The sun had already gone down, the cellar now more of a dark, endless dungeon. There was no telling how long I had been asleep.

All I could think about was the dream...How real it felt...

I could actually smell the lavender perfume she sometimes sneaks when she thought I wasn't looking. She never puts it on herself, she just sprits it enough that she gets a whiff. But it must drift onto her anyway because sometimes when she's close to me I can smell it. I don't know why she does it. It always intrigues me but I never say anything. More over that I would be admitting to the fact that I watch her, and knowing her she'd take it the wrong way...

If she'd ever caught me, she'd probably scold me or call me a perv. But it's never like that, I watch her out of curiosity. We still don't really know each other. There are things that I haven't told her, and probably never will. Just like there are probably things she still hasn't told me.

Despite the occasional sexual innuendo, I had never really thought of her as more then a friend. And even then I can't really use the word 'friend' because I wasn't really sure what we were. We share the bond of both having lost family by the militia's hand. It's what brought us close and even what helped her to trust me in the first place. We understood each other, knowing that we're both driven by revenge for what happened to our families. Family was everything to us...We were nothing without it...

But we have each other...Had each other...

And the thought of going through another loss could potentially ruin either of us.

I couldn't do much else but think about her. It was too painful to move so thinking was all my broken and tired body could muster. I sat there all day, resting...trying to gather my strength, knowing that it wouldn't be easy to get Kayleigh back. Light started to find it's way into the cellar as the sun rose. I hadn't eaten anything since I woke up after I had been sick. I started to grow hungry but knew I could last at least another day or two before food became crucial. So once again I found all I could do was sit and think.

I though about Adam and my father.

I thought about Kayleigh.

I thought about Ramsey waiting on my intel in Annapolis.

I thought about Kayleigh again.

I thought about how I promised Miles I would look after her.

And I thought about the kiss that never actually happened...and the kiss that did.

My dream still dwelled in my mind...As much as I didn't believe it meant anything...I couldn't help but direct my thoughts to it.

All day I was like this. Going back and forth, a few times I drifted off to sleep. But from what I could guess I never slept for longer than a half an hour or so.

Darkness fell over again. It's been almost two days since they took Kayleigh. I still couldn't bring myself to stand up.

Suddenly, I heard the floor boards above me creek. I froze, listening as at least two people made their way in through the back of the house and down the long hallway. I listened for any voice that could possibly tell me who it was. But I only heard the sound of their footsteps as they moved across the house.

They must have made their way up stairs because I could no longer hear the creaking of the floor.

I could hear faint voices, a boy and girl...but I couldn't make out what was being said.

As much as it hurt, I pushed myself to my feet and left the safety of the dungeon.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6: Danny **

What was I doing.

I should be looking for Charlie. I sat down at the top of the stairs, placing the kitchen knife at my side. I knew one thing, we couldn't stay here long. But I didn't want to push Kayleigh. It didn't seem like she was about to give up on the idea that Dean could still be alive...Even though I had my doubts, I felt I owed something to her...Maybe not to her but to someone...I fought to save my father, which turned out to be a mistake, it got him killed. I respected Kayleigh, the way she fought for Dean the day they threw her in the back of the wagon with me. She fought hard despite the dozen men and guns trained on her and Dean.

I suddenly heard movement downstairs. Someone had come in the back door, the floorboards proved to be a nice alarm. I quickly moved into the room Kayleigh was sleeping in.

"What's going on?" She asked sitting up. Clearly she hadn't been able to sleep.

"Someone is in the house" I whispered.

She carefully got off the bed and pulled her brown leather boots on. She frantically tightened the belt like straps that ran around them.

She looked around the room.

"The window...we can jump from the porch roof" she said.

I tried prying the window open but it wouldn't budge. Kayleigh tried to help me push it up but it still wouldn't move.

"It's only one person...we can fight our way out if we have to" I told her looking out the window. The moon provided enough light that I could see the tree line across from the house.

"Are you sure"

"Yeah"

I gripped the knife tightly and we made our way out of the bedroom. We slowly tip toed across the hall and down the stairs. It was dark and I could no longer hear movement from who ever came in. I grabbed Kayleigh's hand and pulled her towards the front door.

"Hey" said a mans voice from behind.

I pushed Kayleigh aside and swung the knife. He grabbed my wrist, stopping the knife from stabbing him in the chest.

"Jesus, its just me" he said.

"Dean!" Kayleigh squealed.

"Hey catnip"


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7: Kayleigh**

I ran to Dean, he was badly beaten and bloody. I put my hand to his cheek,

"I thought you were dead"

"You don't give me nearly enough credit" he laughed.

He cringed, gripping his side.

"Let me see"

"No, we need to get out of here. You can play doctor later" he replied.

"Dean..."

"He's right...they'll still be looking for all of us...We need to find a safer place" Danny said.

"I'll be okay...I've had worse" Dean said taking my hand.

Danny came over and we helped Dean to his feet. We left the old farm house and made our way south east. Hoping to avoid the path we knew Neville was taking to Noblesville. We made it a few miles before letting Dean rest. He wouldn't admit it but he was hurting...I didn't leave his side...

Danny went to find water so it gave me a quick chance look Dean over.

I helped him sit on the ground. He slowly leaned forward and tried to pull off his jacket. His face cringed and he bite his lip. I lifted his shirt and examined his injuries. It was hard to tell for sure but he had at least three badly bruised or slightly fractured ribs. Deep, dark purple bruises marked his entire torso. The wound he had before all this happened had finally started to heal, but he was definitely going to have a nasty scar.

"So what's the verdict" he said pulling his shirt back down.

"You have a few broken ribs and deep bruising, but you'll live"

"See, I'm fine...You worry too much"

"Is that such a bad thing?" I retorted, baffled by how he could brush things like this off...like it meant nothing.

"What's going on with you? Why are you angry with me"

"I'm not angry with you, I just...I came back for you. Despite knowing that they had probably already killed you. Knowing that if anything a trap was going to be waiting for us and that I was putting myself and even Danny in danger. But I came back anyway...I came back for you Dean. When we walked through the house, and there was no sign of you or those soldiers...I felt nothing. I felt empty and cold. Because somewhere deep inside I knew you were already gone and with every step I took to come here and get you back that small little thought ate away at me...That you were gone and there was nothing I could do. And I couldn't bare it Dean. Not again"

I had tears swelling in my eyes like an on coming storm. All those feelings of guilt, I couldn't handle it. He didn't know, he didn't understand...I wasn't blaming him, at least I wasn't trying to. I cowered in the bushes while I watched my mother bleed out...And I watched my brothers and father get executed while I ran away. I didn't fight hard enough for them.

So why did it only take me to meet Dean to finally be brave enough to fight so hard?

Was it because of what happened to my family? Knowing that if I hadn't been brave enough to fight for them then I owed it to them to at least fight for someone else? Dean didn't speak, his own stormy blue-grey eyes were watching me as the tears ran down my cheeks. As they fell onto my lips, I could taste the saltiness. I wiped my lips and face on to the sleeve of my grey sweater. But it didn't do much as more tears streamed from my face.

I looked away from Dean, ignoring his hard gaze. We sat in silence for a while until he suddenly spoke again.

"I never meant to do it..."

"Do what" I asked.

"Push you away...back before when they realized who we were...when I grabbed your arm...and you told me I didn't have to push you away...I never meant to do that to you...I can never make up for all the things you've done for me Kayleigh. You've saved my damn ass so many times now I don't bother to count anymore. You deserved better. I never should have grabbed you like that...I don't want you to think badly of me"

I turned my tear stained face up at him. He had sat up a bit more and leaned in. I could see on his face that it hurt to do so but he didn't seem to care for the pain.

"You don't need to keep explaining yourself Dean...Not to me...I should never have asked about what happened that day in Chicago. It wasn't my business...I was just worried about you...And I guess you're right about me worrying too much" I smiled, wiping the last tears from my eyes.

"I forgot what its like, to have someone who cares...Someone to care about...And I guess it's not such a bad thing either"

I leaned in and gave him a swift peck on the cheek,

"Well, i'm glad you aren't dead"

"Yeah me too...That would have been such a drag"

I smiled even bigger, glad that everything was back to normal...Or at least as normal as this was...

I looked around, the forest started to come alive as light peeked out from behind the tall skinny trees.

I rubbed my arms, the air still an unbearable cold. Dean saw, grabbing his dark blue jacket from behind him, he wrapped it tightly around me. I gave a small smile, which he returned. Seeing his smile comforted me, I had thought I would never see that smile again.

But his smile suddenly faded, and he looked around nervously.

"How long has Danny been gone?" He asked, his eyes still searching the trees.

"I...I don't know..."

I suddenly too had come to the realization that Danny had never come back with water. I got up frantically, searching the trees.

"Kayleigh" Dean said as he held his hand out to me.

I grabbed it and helped him to his feet.

"We need to go now" he said, his eyes still staring off in every direction.

"We can't just leave him"

"Kayleigh, we've been cursed with rain the last several weeks"

"And?"

"And," he said repeating me, "the ground is muddy. Our footprints were all over that house, inside and out. Making it easy-"

"For them to track us" I finished.

I helped Dean with his pack, he insisted on carrying it himself. And I wasn't going to spend time arguing with him about it. I quickly swung my own pack over my shoulders. I took Dean's arm to swing around my shoulder but he stopped me.

"I'll be okay"

I looked at him with a plead in my eyes. Knowing that wasn't true seeing how it took both me and Danny to help him only a few miles.

"Don't do that," he said starting to walk away, "you know it scares me how fast you can pull out the puppy dog look"

"I didn't realize I had one" I said moving so that I walked beside him.

"Please Kayleigh. I'm sure you pulled that one on...never mind"

I could tell he was about to say my parents, but stopped himself. As if I was going to break down again at the mention of my family.

"Actually," I said trying to ease the tension, "it only worked on my brother Zach. He didn't like to show it but he was a big softy...You don't have to tread around it you know"

"Around what"

"Mentioning my family...It's okay"

We walked in silence after that.

We found a small creek running through the forest. We looked for any signs that Danny had been there.

"Maybe we should search farther down" I said.

"Kayleigh we just got away from that...We have to worry about ourselves"

"How can you say that?! We was willing to risk his freedom. To come and save you! He doesn't even know you!"

"He didn't do that for me. He did it for you, he obviously has a thing for you"

"His name is Danny Matheson...he's Miles nephew. When I thought you were dead, my plan was to continue on to Annapolis. He was going to come with me. He lost family because of the militia, he knows whats it's like. He wanted to fight for the same reasons-"

"All right, all right I get it"

"And he does not have a thing for me" I said, following the creek as it twisted south through the trees.

"I'm sure he's into the whole small but feisty thing you got going on"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm never going to forget how you took a chunk out of that guys arm...I'm still laughing about it"

"Whatever"

"Oh come on Catnip. It was funny"

"Stop calling me that"

"No, it suits you too well-"

Dean suddenly side tackled me.

We fell into a large thorny bush that stood along the river.

"Dean what the-"

He threw his rough, calloused hand over my mouth.

He was intensely watching the woods through the brush, when I suddenly heard the sounds of horses and men.

I grabbed his hand and he removed it from over my mouth, but I didn't let go. They weren't as close as I thought. Dean slowly and carefully moved off me. I turned so that I could look through the brush as well. They were a few hundred yards away, slowly making their way threw the beaten path that ran with the creek. I gripped Dean's hand tighter when I saw Danny sitting in the back of the wagon. Major Neville was no longer riding in front, but beside the wagon. His eyes searched the woods. But it didn't help that moving almost a dozen men and large wagon being pulled by two horses created a lot of noise. But...it was lucky for us that Dean had been paying attention. After they passed out of sight, we continued to hide until we were sure it was safe. We painfully made our way out of the entangling brush. I had thorns sticking all over my body. They were large, red and I was going to kill Dean for tackling me in the one bush that was covered in a thorny hell. Dean started to pull his shirt over his head.

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed as he threw it aside.

"Don't be so squeamish, it's nothing you haven't seen before...I'm just getting the thorns out of my body"

I hesitated, but the thorns sticking into me convinced otherwise.

I turned my back to him, slowly pulling off my sweater. In the process it pulled some thorns out, but I could still feel several sticking in me.

I started on my sweater, then on my body. Dean had suddenly grown silent.

"Dean? Are you okay?" I said turning around and seeing his stunned expression.

"Your back..."

That's when I realized what he was staring at. I had long, thin, jagged scars running criss cross on my back.

"Oh...That..." I said, "just ignore it"

He looked at me like I was crazy.

"Ignore it? Kayleigh what-"

"Dean, please don't ask"

I started pulling the thorns from my shorts and legs.

When Dean finished he pulled his shirt back over his head, but his gaze was still on my back, even after I pulled my sweater back on. I ignored his gaze and handed his jacket back to him,

"Here, I don't need this anymore"

He didn't take it, he just stared at me with a severely concerned look on his face. I tied his jacket around my waist then readjusting my pack I stood up.

"Come on, we can follow them to Noblesville, we'll just keep our distance" I said, starting to follow the creek south again.

"Kayleigh, hold on a second!" He yelled, getting up and running after me.

"So we're not going to talk about it?"

"No"

"Why not"

"Are you going to talk about yours?" I said angrily.

He fell silent.

"Didn't think so...Now come on, we have to get Danny back"

The forest began to thin. We moved onto the road as the creek started to turn west. We followed the tracks of Neville and his men, which wasn't difficult because of the wagon and horses. But with Dean's still extensive injuries, and our lack of food we started to fall behind.

Every since he saw the scars on my back, he became distant. I wasn't ready to tell him what happened to me. I didn't want to think about it. But now I guess I knew how he felt when I badgered him into telling me about what happened in Chicago...It doesn't matter anymore, I can't let myself dwell on this any longer, I just wanted to focus on rescuing Danny.

The beaten path started leading out of the forest and just a mile up a paved road we could see a large town. We headed towards the town, a large sign told us we were in Lowell, Indiana. The town was abandoned. There was no sign of life anywhere.

We twisted our way through the rusted cars and piles of bricks that had fallen off the old buildings. We were passing a large store;

_•O. STEIN FURNITURE CO.• _

when we turned the corner we ran into a man and woman.

"Kayleigh?" The woman said.

It was the blonde woman who had come looking for Miles with Charlie back in Chicago.

"Maggie...and Aaron right?"

"Yeah...what are you doing here?" Aaron asked, eyeing Dean suspiciously.

"We were heading to Annapolis...but we've been following a group of militia soldiers...Charlie's brother, Danny, he's their prisoner...We're heading after them...I can only assume you're doing the same"

"You're trying to rescue Danny?" Maggie asked.

"Trying being the operative word" I replied.

"Why?" Asked Aaron.

"It's a long story," I looked around,

"Where's Charlie?"

"She and Miles had to make a detour...We were supposed to meet them here yesterday but they still haven't shown up"

"Miles? Miles is with you guys?"

"Yes...You two look like you could use something to eat" Maggie said with a smile, but also eyeing Dean suspiciously.

They brought us back to where they had set up camp. It was just a small fire outside a hardware store. We sat around it, leaning against the old rusty cars. I told them about what happened after we left Chicago...well most of what happened, just the details that concerned Danny.

They listened intently, and then told their side of the story. We realized we had all been just a few steps behind each other the whole time.

Even though Miles had told them to leave, they came back and helped him fight off the militia soldiers that had come to take Miles away. They fought their way out, then somehow Charlie was able to convince Miles to join them in the search for Danny.

"They did that to you?" Aaron asked Dean, gesturing to his wounds.

Dean didn't answer, he was just staring down the road. He had been silent the whole time.

"Yes," I said answering for him, "they did that after they took me"

I could tell Maggie and Aaron were weary of Dean. And I couldn't blame them after what happened with Jason. They gave us what food they could spare then they left to do another sweep of the town.

"What the hell is wrong with you" I yelled at Dean when they disappeared down the street.

"Nothing" he replied.

"Then why are you being so rude"

"I don't know these people Kayleigh. And neither do you. They're looking for Danny, Miles is going to get him back. There's no reason for us to be here anymore"

"I'm going to help them get Danny back...So go ahead, do whatever you want. Go to Annapolis...but I'm sorry, i'm not coming with you"

He looked me up and down, he hesitated before standing up. He grabbed his pack and swung it onto his back.

"So what? That's it you're just going to leave"

"I told you, it's important that I get to Annapolis. I can't afford another lengthy detour...You can keep the jacket by the way, you need it more than I do"

"Dean wait!" I got up and ran to him.

I pulled his arm so that he would turn around towards me.

"What" he said harshly.

"Just..."

I stood on the tip of my toes so I could kiss his cheek. It wasn't like the quick peck I gave him before, I let my lips linger on his skin.

"Promise me you'll take care of yourself" I said, pulling away.

He only nodded.

Something about his sudden silent nature was bothering me. He continued to look at me, I got the feeling like he wanted to say something but he seemed to brush it off because he started to walk away again. I watched him as he made his way down the car and debris ridden street. I continued to stand there, even when I could no longer see him. Even after everything, I knew one day our paths would split...I just never thought it would be this soon...

"Kayleigh?" I heard a deep voice say from behind me.

I turned around and saw Miles heading up the street, along with Charlie, Maggie, Aaron, a very tan woman and...Jason.

"You son of a-" I ran at him, but Miles grabbed me by my shoulders and held me back before I could throw a punch.

"What the hell is he doing here!" I yelled trying to fight Miles off me.

"We caught him following us, don't worry we aren't letting him get away this time" Charlie answered.

"Do you know what happened because of him!? I'm going to kill him!" I said unable to get loose from Miles grip.

"Believe me Kayleigh, I would love nothing more than for you to punch his guts out. But I can't let you do that...at least not yet" Miles said.

I settled down and Miles let go of me.

"Where's Dean?" He asked.

"He's gone, on his way to...base," I said stopping myself from saying Annapolis in front of Jason, "He left right before you got here"

"What happened to your wrists?!" He said seeing where the cuffs had cut in. They had mostly healed but were still clearly visible.

"You can ask him" I said glaring at Jason.

"Maggie says you saw Danny" Charlie said to me.

"It was a few days ago, they're heading for Noblesville" I replied without taking my eyes from Jason.

"He's okay though?" She asked frantically.

"Besides a few scrapes and bruises, yeah he's okay"

I didn't tell her how we all had escaped together. How this all could have been over for them and she could have had her brother back. It was my fault, I was so caught up in having Dean back...We should have been more careful.

"We should get moving if we want to catch up to them" the latino looking woman said.

I grabbed my pack and took a last look down the street I had seen him disappear from...I hoped that any second he would come running back.

We headed through the city, in the opposite direction Dean had taken. Darkness had started to fall while I had been talking with Maggie and Aaron. Now it was completely dark, with only the half moon's light to guide us. Walking through the abandoned town in the dark had an erie, haunting feel. It sent chills up my back, and I couldn't help shake the feeling we were being watched.

"Do you hear that?" Charlie asked.

We all slowed our pace almost stopping as we listened for what Charlie was talking about. There was a strange noise coming from behind a small blue truck.

We slowly walked around and saw two large dogs, viciously ripping at a deer carcass. We all froze in place as the dogs saw us, they lowered their heads, baring their teeth they let out low growls.

"Run" Miles said in a low voice.

We all turned and bolted down a random street. Me and Charlie were the fastest, taking the lead we turned down an alley with everyone right behind. The sounds of the dogs feet padding fast right behind us as well. There was a large fence at the end if the alley, throwing our packs over we started to climb. Maggie, Jason and the tan woman followed as Miles and Aaron came from behind. Miles was up and over quick but one of the dogs caught up and wrapped its large teeth around Aaron's leg. Maggie lifted up Charlie's cross bow and shot the dog in the chest. Miles helped Aaron over the fence as the dog fell to the ground. We moved away from the fence and sat Aaron down. Maggie pulled rags out of her pack to use as bandages.

"Wait, here" I said taking my pack off, "I have clean ones"

I handed her the white bandages and even some of the salve I had left over. She thanked me and started on Aaron's leg.

"Am I going to get rabies?" Aaron asked Maggie.

"Probably not" she replied.

"Probably not? Oh that's good"

"They didn't have rabies. You could tell if they did. It was more out of protecting their territory than because they're just generally crazy" I told him.

"How can you be so sure" he asked.

"I can't"

"Thanks, that made me feel loads better"

"Glad I can help" I said patting him on the shoulder.

"So are you a doctor or something?" I asked Maggie as she finished wrapping his wound.

"Or something" she replied with a smile, "that salve? Eucalyptus right? Where'd you get it"

"And other things. I made it...My mother was a doctor. She taught me as much as she could"

"She taught you enough" she said, still smiling she handed back the tin can of salve.

"All right," Miles said, "lets get the hell outta here"

We moved forward, Miles kicked down a few boards of a tall fence that stretched around the commercial buildings of the town. Going through the hole he created we came upon large, colorful metal structures. They looked like roads, twisting and winding into the sky. I stood in awe, never having seem anything like it before.

"Roller coasters" Aaron said to me, he saw my look of awe as we passed underneath the gigantic metal roads,

"They're park rides. You sit in car like seats, it goes really fast, upside down sometimes too. I use to be terrified of them as a kid. Now I would give anything to have a chance to ride one again"

We continued to follow Miles through the large park. It felt like it was a never ending ground of old, forgotten metal rides. Something of the past, a time when people had no cares and could spend hours spinning and twisting in seats of metal. We stayed the night in the park so Aaron could rest his leg.

In the morning, Maggie checked Aaron's wound then we took off. Making our way towards the front of the park, clouds started to roll over in the sky and the wind picked up. We were making our way through a string of gift shops when we heard growling. It was the dogs again. There was four this time, all muscular with large, sharp looking teeth.

"There's a diner behind us...on the count of three we haul ass" Miles said.

But suddenly the dogs took off, running right for us.

"THREE!" He yelled.

We all ran for the blue and white trimmed diner. Charlie got there first, and was pulling everyone through the door. Miles slammed it shut, stopping the dogs in their tracks.

"Everyone okay?" He said.

"Where's Maggie?" Charlie said frantically.

We all looked around at each other, the blonde haired British woman was not amongst us.

"She was right behind me" said the latino woman, who's name I learned was Nora Clayton.

"HELP!"

We could hear Maggie's faint scream coming from outside. Miles ran out through another door in the back to avoid the dogs. He came back, carrying Maggie in his arms.

"Oh my god Maggie!" Charlie said running over to her.

I followed and saw that she had a large gapping hole in her thigh.

"There was a man out there...What did he say" Miles asked Maggie.

"He said...I killed his dog"

"Ah this is great. It's not just a pack of strays out there, they belong to that psycho" Miles exclaimed, running his hand through his thick brown hair.

"Move over" I said to Miles and Charlie.

I kneeled beside Maggie, moving her hand from over the wound I examined it.

"Miles..." I said softly, "I'm guessing he used a knife?" I asked.

"Yeah why?"

"It severed and artery...She's going to bleed out"


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8: Kayleigh**

Miles tied Jason to a large support beam standing in the middle of the room.

"How the hell are we going to get out of here with those dogs?" Aaron said.

"Right, keep the doors locked. Nora lets go" Miles said grabbing his sword.

"Wait you can't go out there!" Aaron said.

"Nope. That's why we're going to the roof, hopscotch a few buildings over" Miles replied.

"And do what?!"

"Find this whack job. Get him to call off his mutts"

Miles and Nora hopped over the diner counter and into the kitchen making their way to the stairs of the roof.

"How can we help?" Charlie asked me as I prepared to dress Maggie's wound.

"I need a lot of bandages and something to sew her up with"

"No...no just leave me..." Maggie said.

"We aren't going to leave you Maggie" Aaron replied.

"You have to. Danny is close. I won't be the reason you lost him. Now you have to go, please"

"I'm not going to leave you. We'll get Danny back...And we'll do it together" Charlie said sternly.

"No Charlie-"

"Look, Maggie I know I haven't been easy...My mom was gone, then you were there...I didn't..."

"It's all right, I understand"

"You were there. You were always there for me. Kind...Protective...Annoying" she gave a slight laugh, "The least I can do is give you a taste of your own Medicine"

"So? What can I do" Charlie said turning back towards me.

"Grab my pack" I told her,

"It's over there, by the diner counter, next to Mile's stuff"

Charlie ran to grab it. I was holding my hands over Maggie's wound, trying to slow the bleeding. Aaron had come and sat next to me to help.

"CHARLIE!" Jason suddenly yelled.

I turned around just in time to see her feet disappear behind the counter. We could hear her muffled screams fade as who ever took her moved out of the building. Aaron tried to run after them but couldn't move fast on his injured leg.

"Miles, he got Charlie!" Aaron said as Nora and Miles appeared through the kitchen.

"What?!"

"Which door did he come in?" Nora asked.

"Miles" Jason said loudly, "heavily armed, hauled her through the kitchen, last look she was still alive"

Miles stared at Jason, then ran over to him and started to cut him free.

"You're coming with me" Miles said to him.

"I need to operate...I'm going to need help" I said.

"I can help" Aaron said, coming back to kneel beside Maggie.

"I'll bring her back Maggie" said Miles.

Miles, Nora and Jason disappeared into the kitchen.

"What do we do first?" Aaron asked.

"I need some way to sterilize the needle and clean the wound, alcohol would be helpful"

"Miles has whiskey" he replied.

"Of course he does...get it"

I sterilized the needle, then handed the bottle to Maggie.

"You're going to want to drink some" I told her.

She took a large swig of the whiskey,

"All right...I'm ready" she said.

I threaded the needle, then started to repair the artery as best I could. I moved slowly and carefully, making sure not to make a mistake.

"Your mom taught you how to do all this? How old were you?" He asked

"Nine...I'm a quick learner...and she was a good teacher" I told him.

Soon enough Charlie, Miles, Nora and Jason came running back through the front doors of the diner, the barking of the dogs had faded out.

"What did you do to the dogs?" Aaron asked.

"Gave em' a time out" Miles said holding up a small silver whistle.

"How is she?" Charlie asked, running over to Maggie's side.

"I'm almost done" I replied.

Maggie smiled at seeing Charlie.

"You saved me Charlie" she said.

"That's right, we're going to save you" Charlie said trying to smile back.

"No...you saved me...Thank you"

"No, no don't talk like that. You're going to be okay"

"I've lost too much blood," she turned to look at me, "you know I have...I appreciate what you did" she told me, gesturing to the wound.

"No, Kayleigh fixed you...she fixed you" Aaron said looking to me for an answer.

"No, she's right...it didn't matter...I'm sorry" I replied.

"Can I have my phone please?" Maggie said, reaching her hand out to her bag.

"No, Maggie please" Charlie pleaded with her, tears filling her blue eyes. Aaron pulled out a rectangular object. It had a pink rubbery thing wrapped around it; Maggie took it from Aaron. She stared at the dark, blank screen before giving a big smile.

"Maggie please don't go...don't go Maggie please" Charlie said, the tears now falling fast from her eyes. Maggie's hand that was holding the phone fell into her lap as her eyes closed and her head fell to the side.

"Don't leave me Maggie! Please don't leave me...everybody leaves me"

Miles came over to her, lifting Charlie to her feet he hugged her.

"I'm not going anywhere...i'm not going to leave you" he said softly as she continued to cry into his shirt.

I went into the diner's kitchen. Pulling a bowl from the shelf I poured water in it and tried to scrub the blood from my hands.

Jason followed me in. He was still untied and had numerous opportunities to run but didn't.

"What the hell do you want" I said without looking up from what I was doing.

"If it means anything, I'm sorry about before. I didn't know your friend was a rebel. If I-"

"If what?" I said turing around,

"If you had known he was a rebel, you wouldn't have ratted us out? Please. I hope Miles decides you're not worth the trouble. You deserve to be tied up and left here"

"You don't know me" he said.

"You're militia. I don't need to"

"Here," he said handing me his bow, "to replace the one they took"

"If you think a bow if going to make up for everything then you must be insane"

"It's of no use to me now. And you lost yours because of me. I'm not doing it to get in your good graces I'm doing it because its the right thing"

"Oh so your such a good samaritan now? Thinking of changing sides"

"Of course not"

"Why'd you help Miles? You could have easily gotten away while he was focused on getting Charlie...But instead you helped him get her back...I don't know it just seems curious"

"Do you want the bow or not" he said, avoiding my question.

I ripped the bow from his hand, knowing he was right that I did need a new weapon but not wanting it to be from him.

It was a hand carved long bow. It was well crafted, probably nicked from some store like most weapons. I held it up, pulling back the bowstring, testing the tension, being a long bow it was harder to wield. But use it enough and I could build enough strength in my arm to properly use it.

"It's nice" I told him.

He smiled. But I didn't give him the gratification of returning the gesture.

Miles came and pulled him from the kitchen and restrained his hands again. Miles and Aaron had wrapped Maggie's body in several white table cloths they had found in the back, then carried her body outside. They dug a place for Maggie in a small clearing just outside the park. We sat by her grave for maybe twenty minutes before Miles was already trying to get us to move out.

"Give them some time" I heard Nora say to him harshly.

"We don't have time. If we want to catch Neville in Noblesville we need to go now" Miles replied.

"It's all right Nora" Charlie, said grabbing her pack.

I grabbed mine, my new bow and the quiver of arrows Miles gave me.

Following Miles, we headed south east to Noblesville.

We were on the road for several days before we finally got there. We held up just outside of town in and abandoned auto garage. Miles, Charlie and Nora left to go scout Noblesville to make sure Neville was still there. Leaving me and Aaron in charge of watching Jason.

"A steam engine train? They're going to take a train to Philly?" Aaron said after they got back and reported what they found out.

"When are they leaving?" I asked.

"Tomorrow morning" Charlie replied.

"That doesn't leave us much time to infiltrate militia and get Danny out" I said.

"It's our only option at this point" Miles replied, "they're probably holding him in some type of cell. Maybe even on the train itself. That's what i'd do. We're going back out to look for him. Aaron, Kayleigh stay here with him. He makes any funny movements just shoot him"

Charlie grabbed her crossbow,

"Ah, no bow, no swords. I don't want to attract attention. You get a whiff of Danny, don't do anything. Come and find me" he said to Charlie and Nora.

"I'm trusting you to watch him" Miles came over so that he was only talking to me.

"Don't worry" I told him.

He nodded,

"All right. Let's go" he said and they left again.

A half an hour later, Nora came strutting in. A scraggly, white bearded man behind her. I strung my bow,

"Nora...Who's this"

"Hutch" he replied.

"He's resistance" Nora added.

"Oh so what, you have like a secret hand shake or something?" Aaron said, "Nora, what's going on?"

She was holding a militia uniform in her arms as she moved behind a large red truck.

Aaron followed her, but I stayed back to keep an eye on Jason.

Aaron was arguing with her but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

"I'm hutch" he said again to me, holding out his hand.

I didn't shake it or tell him my name...I just eyed him suspiciously and kept my distance.

"And what if Danny's on board?!" I heard Aaron yell.

I kept glancing towards the door, hoping Miles would appear and magically sort all this out.

After Nora changed they ran off, to do god knows what.

"Aaron what's going on?" I asked seeing his horrified expression.

"They're going to blow up the train"

"What do you mean she's going to blow up the train?! What if Danny's on board!" Charlie said yelling at Aaron.

"She said she didn't have a choice"

"Miles we have to stop her!"

"We won't be able to find her...What we need to do is find Danny..." Miles replied.

Then he looked over at Jason.

Getting up he grabbed his arm and pushed him to the floor in front of Charlie. She kneeled in front of him so that she could look him in the eyes.

"If you know anything about where they are keeping my brother you have to tell me. This is my family. I am asking...I am begging you, please tell me" she pleaded with him.

Something in his eyes almost seemed like he wanted to help her...but he didn't give in to that feeling.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I can't help you"

"Well then I can't help you either" she replied, and moved out of the way.

Miles pulled out his sword and started to walk towards Jason. I turned my head so I didn't have to watch. But Jason had other ideas.

He rolled quickly out of the way, pushing a ladder into Miles he jumped up on to the large red truck. And then to the support beams going across the ceiling and out a window. We all ran outside to catch him, but he was already gone. We back ran inside, gathering our stuff quickly.

"They know we're coming now. We have to find Danny quick...And I think I know where they're keeping him" Miles said suddenly.

We made our way to Noblesville's local bank.

"I can't believe I didn't think about this before. A bank vault is the perfect place for them to keep Danny"

We made our way to the back of the old building, he was right, there was a cell fitted with a small cot and desk.

"Look," I said, picking up a bloody rag, "he was definitely here".

"They're already putting him on the train...Come on!"

We ran out of the bank and through town, back towards the old train station.

But once we got there the train was already moving.

"Miles..." Said a small voice from behind us.

Nora was leaning against the station building, her hand on her side.

She collapsed to the ground as Miles ran to her.

"I'm sorry...I tried to stop it"

"Who did this to you?" Miles asked.

"Listen" she said turning to Charlie, "the bomb's on the train...and so is your brother"


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9: Kayleigh**

"The bomb is a hollowed out log, on the tinder cart...I'm sorry Miles"

The train was pulling away. Charlie watched it in tears as it was leaving the station.

"Miles," I said pulling his jacket sleeve, and pointing to a line of half a dozen horses that were tied to a long wooden post next to the station. Me, Miles and Charlie each grabbed a horse and took off after the train while Aaron stayed with Nora. The train hadn't had enough time to pick up a lot of speed so our horses caught it fast. We jumped from the horses onto the back of the train. Climbing a ladder we moved across the top of the box cars.

"Go get Danny! I'll take care of the bomb" Miles yelled at us.

Me and Charlie moved to the box car that Nora said she had seen Danny on. We climbed down so that we were on the porch like area in between the two box cars. Charlie looked through the widow of the car's door and her face lit up.

"I see him!" She said happily.

Suddenly, she ducked her head and I did the same.

"Neville's with him!" She said over the noise of the train.

She waited, then peeked through the window again. I saw her nod, probably to Danny.

She tried to pull open the door to the car but it's stuck.

"Danny!" She screamed, jimmying the door handle.

I helped her push the door open. We ran into the car and see Danny struggling with Neville on the ground. I grabbed the bottle of whiskey that was on the table and smashed it over Neville's head.

"Come on!" Charlie said, grabbing Danny's hand.

But Jason appeared as we tried to escape through the other door and grabbed Charlie, squeezing his arm around her neck.

Neville got back on his feet and threw his arm around my neck in a choke hold as well, then pulled his gun on Danny.

"Bring her to me...Bring the girl to me. Let me shoot the bitch" He said to Jason, "that's an order".

Jason hesitated, then whispered something in Charlie's ear. A baffled expression swept across her face. Jason dragged her to the open box car door and threw her off the train. I stood in shock...Jason had just saved Charlie's life.

The train shook violently, and we could hear the sound of the explosion from the bomb Nora had made. Miles had been able to throw it off in time.

Jason ran towards the front of the train, he held a gun up and shot a few rounds before Miles jumped from the train himself.

Hearing the commotion, several of Neville's men came running from another box car. They restrained Danny, handcuffing him to a table. Neville turned me around so that I faced him.

"Welcome back Miss Evans"

A devilish smile spread across Major Neville's face.

It only took a little over a day to get to Pennsylvania. They couldn't clear the tracks all the way to Philly in time so we stopped in Harrisburg. They threw us into an old Police station cell until morning.

"I'm sorry Danny" I told him when I could no longer hear the footsteps of the soldiers.

"It's not your fault they caught me again"

"We should have been more careful...we shouldn't have stayed in that house"

"If we hadn't, you would still think Dean's dead"

"Right..."

He was being so nice, even when he had every right to blame me for being in this situation. I couldn't help but wonder if I should have gone with Dean...I wouldn't be in this situation...but I don't think I would have been able to sit well with leaving Danny alone in Neville's hands.

His face was swollen and bruised. He had small cuts all over his face...someone had used him as a punching bag. He saw me staring,

"Neville forced me to fight him...I lost"

"I can see that" I replied bluntly.

"Where is he"

"You mean Dean"

"Yeah"

"We split up in Lowell. He needed to get to Annapolis...and I needed to help get you back...Not doing so well am I"

"He left you?"

"Yeah? Why are you so surprised"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, why shouldn't I be?"

"Because he left you...Come on Kayleigh, you two were obviously closer then either of you care to admit"

I didn't say anything else, not wanting to talk about Dean anymore.

The cell was small, and only contained two cots. I went over to one and laid down, exhaustion suddenly sweeping over me.

•I was standing in front of Josh and Zach. They were kneeling on the ground, looking up at me in disgust.

Suddenly, I pulled the gun from my holster and aimed it at Zach. I tried to stop myself but for some reason I couldn't control my own body. I shot Zach in the head, and then Josh. I screamed their names as the blood soaked into the ground•

"Kayleigh!"

Danny was sitting on my cot, leaning over and shaking me awake. I opened my eyes, which were clouded by tears.

"I didn't want to do it...I couldn't...I couldn't stop myself...I didn't want to do it"

I sat up, throwing my arms around Danny and sobbing into his shirt.

"It's okay, it was just a dream...it was just a dream"

Danny held me, stroking my hair he tried to calm me down.

I hadn't had a nightmare in a while, not since before...Dean.

The last one I had was after me and Dean had been separated.

I hadn't even realized that all the time I was with Dean...I rarely had a nightmare. But when I did, I always awoke to Dean by my side. He would hold my hand and stay awake until I was able to fall asleep again. As Danny held me I couldn't help but wish it was Dean instead of him.

"I'm sorry" I said to him, pulling away.

"Don't be...Do you wanna talk about it"

"Not really...no"

I crossed my legs and leaned back against the wall. I closed my eyes, running fingers through my thick, messy hair.

"I'm all right," I said seeing Danny's worried look,

"You should go back to sleep"

He looked towards his cot then back at me.

"Nah," he said waving his hand,

"I'm not that tired anyway"

He sat next to me, also leaning up against the wall of the cell.

I looked at him, he wasn't that much taller than me. His blonde hair was starting to grow past his ears and he had grown thin from lack of food.

We stayed up all night. Swapping stories about how we grew up. I could tell how close he and Charlie were. Most of the stories were of times they would get into trouble as kids. She was his big sister, he idolized her. He told me his mom died a long time ago. Not too long after the blackout. He said he couldn't remember much about it, just how Charlie stepped up to help take care of him. He has asthma and was sick a lot when he was little. It was Charlie who would stay up half the night to comfort him.

I told him about my brothers, they were the same way; always looking out for me. I told him about my mother. How smart and beautiful she was. How she taught me a little bit of everything; piano, how to shoot a bow, how to treat people who were sick, which plants could heal...and which could kill. I sang a bit of the lullaby she would sing me to sleep with every night. I told him about the books she would read me, how she always knew when I was lying or when I needed her to just give me a hug. We talked for so long that the sun started to peek through the thin, slit of a window near the ceiling of our cell.

Not too long after, Neville and several militia soldiers came and pulled us from our cell. They stuck us on yet another wagon, and we were off to Philly.

March Third.

A day I will never forget, because it's the day I met General Sebastian Monroe.

When we arrived within Philly's City limits, the only thing defining a rather tall barbed wire fence, they dragged me and Danny into a large building. Polished white letters reading 'Independence Hall' were strewn above the front entrance of the old red brick building. Militia soldiers were bustling about in the court yard and through out the first floor of Independence Hall. Neville led the way as we climbed to the second floor and straight towards two blue doors. They forced me and Danny to stay behind as Major Neville entered the room. As the doors slid open and closed, I could just see the shape of a man sitting at an enormous desk, covered in papers. His head was down, his hands mulling through the messy stacks. He didn't bother to look up as Neville entered the room. The two militia soldiers that stood outside the office pulled the doors shut. I glanced at Danny, he didn't seem phased by the somewhat intimidating atmosphere that seemed to come with meeting the president of the Monroe Republic. He seemed almost confident, like he wasn't afraid to face the man responsible for so much pain and suffering. Monroe is the kind of leader who instills fear into his own people and of course he does that with the strength of his militia. The two men guarding the doors were both tall, muscular and looked like they could kill you with just their pinky finger. They wielded large guns and were eyeing me suspiciously. The doors swung open once again and Neville nodded to the two soldiers restraining us. They pushed me and Danny into the room.

The man at the desk looked up.

"Danny Matheson," he said, moving around the desk and walking towards us. Neville pushed Danny forward, but held me back.

"I knew your father...I'm sorry about what happened. That is not how I wanted things to work out"

He stared at Danny looking him over, but Danny kept his head down; unwilling to look the man in the eye.

"Believe me, Major Neville will be dealt with"

He threw a hard glance at Neville, who became shifty and unnerved at the mention of a punishment.

Everything I heard about this man, how brutal a man like him has to be to raise such a militia...and to keep it running.

And I couldn't see it. I don't know if it was his seemingly sincere apology to Danny, or just that I never expected him to have so much poise.

His curly hair was smoothed back. He wore the signature jacket of the Monroe militia, but his was a dark blue instead of green, and black trim instead of brown. There was a pin of the Monroe insignia clipped to the collar of his shirt. His face seemed hard and worn, but if anything his crystal blue eyes and smile were entrancing enough to make you believe there was a hint of a normal person tucked away beneath his title.

General Monroe.

I expected to feel a sense of terror when I looked upon his face...But some gnawing feeling of familiarity struck instead. He walked closer to Danny, still studying the boy's face,

"I see your mother in you" Monroe said, his voice almost a whisper.

The mention of his mother was enough for Danny to look up at the General.

"You knew my mother?" he asked as Monroe turned away and walked back towards his desk.

"Take him back to his room please"

The two soldiers who had escorted us in came and grabbed Danny's arms.

"And Danny," Monroe said, turning back to look at him,

"Just remember you're my guest. Anything you want, food...woman"

Danny's back now to him, Monroe couldn't see the look of disgust spread across his face.

"Anything. Just ask, okay?"

Danny didn't reply. Too overwhelmed by his obvious hatred of the man offering him everything. As the soldiers led him out Danny threw a worried look my way. I tried to give him a smile, letting him know I would be okay, but he didn't seem to believe it.

And neither did I.

Monroe nodded to Neville, who let go of my arm and followed the men out the door, softly closing the doors behind him.

Monroe moved behind his desk and poured himself a glass of whiskey.

"Sit" he said waving a hand to a chair in front of his desk.

I didn't move. Not out of fear but confusion.

"Please" he said with a smile,

"You must be tired, I've ridden in those wagons before. I know how dreadful they are...Please sit"

I walked slowly across the floor and sat down in the brown leather chair to his left. He continued to stand, flipping through the papers on his desk, what I now could see were maps of all the outlying districts of the once United States. Every now and again he would reach for his glass, but not once did he look at me.

I took the chance to look around the room. It was almost larger then all the rooms in my former home combined. His desk was along the back wall, Monroe Republic flags stood on each side of a marble blue-grey fireplace behind the desk. To my right were tall, skinny windows, covered with long blood red curtains. There was a long dining table in front of the windows, several chairs lining each side. A large china cabinet stood by the door and across from the dinning table. The other side of the room contained a long tan couch and a few chairs atop of any extremely ugly, paisley red rug. There were two other blue doors near the couch towards the corner of the room. I was staring at them...Curious to what laid behind them when Monroe's voice caught my attention.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I've brought you here Miss Evans" he said sitting back into his chair.

"Actually, I was more curious about why you've been looking for me for the past...what? It's been three, almost four years since your men came to my home and killed my family"

"I am truly sorry about what happened to your brothers...but lets be honest your so called father; that was no loss"

"He was killed protecting me from your officer...you have no right. You didn't know him"

"So he wasn't an abusive drunk? He didn't spend all day in the bars drowning himself in liquor?"

"My mother was brutally murdered...and once again by your men...I forgave him a long time ago for the man he became"

"I knew your father...he was a belligerent drunk long before Sarah's death...You were too young to see it...to know what was really going on because your mother did her best to hide it from you"

"How'd you know my parents"

I had a hard time believing him. And why should I? After everything thats happened in his name...I didn't want to believe that my mother had been covering for my fathers drunken stupor...I couldn't handle knowing that she had been unhappy before she died...

"Your mother and I were good friends before the blackout, she was like family to me...After the blackout, I knew she would stay in Maryland and I visited a few times...you probably don't remember"

That air of familiarity came flowing back as I looked into his blue eyes...and I now I understood why...and maybe that he wasn't lying...What gain came from him telling me the truth about my father anyway? I'm not saying any of this made sense to me...just that it was possible.

"No, I think I remember. You and Miles right? You use to visit...You use to sing to me...I couldn't remember before because it was like you were a different person...you are a different person"

"You do what you have to...to survive" he replied, his voice cold and harsh.

"So did I, for three years by myself. Living with the fact that my brothers were shot in the head because you were looking for me. I blamed myself for three years for what happened to them...when I should have been blaming you"

"I'm not the one who pulled the trigger. It was not my intention to harm them"

"But it happened. And you should have taken responsibility for the lives of the people that were taken because of Sgt. Strauss"

"He was punished for what happened in your village"

"Right, because i'm sure the slap on the wrist you gave him is just enough to stop that psycho. He deserves to die for the lives he destroyed"

He walked around the desk so that he was in front of me, he placed his hands on the arms of the brown leather chair and leaned in,

"You should show me some respect" he said in a low graveled voice.

"I'll show you respect when you deserve it"

He raised his hand, like he was going to smack me across the face but stopped himself. He curled his fingers into a ball and placed his hand back by his side. Leaning back he sat on the edge of his desk, staring intensely, unsure what to do with me.

He got up, moving back around his desk he whipped the glass of whiskey from his desk. He had his back to me as he chugged the light golden liquor.

Stifling a laugh, I shook my head at the irony.

"Go on," Monroe said placing his empty glass back on the desk,

"Say what you're thinking"

"You act like your better then him, but you're both just the same. You use what power you have to instill fear in people. It's how you control them. Then you drink it off because it's the only thing that makes you numb from the pain you cause. You throw words around to try and justify why it's not your fault. You can't handle the guilt that comes with what you do, but you do it anyway because power is the only thing you care about...So I laughed, because I almost felt sorry for you. Because for you to be friends with my mom you must have been a good person at one point...but I almost felt sorry. Almost. Because that person obviously no longer exists and i'm sure it's why Miles tried to kill you but couldn't"

I could tell he was trying everything in his power not to hit me. I was trying to egg him on, and I didn't understand why he was holding back. Why they were treating me and Danny like honored guests now that we've arrived, when all they did was treat us like prisoners of war the whole way here.

His face was stone cold as he tried to hold back his emotions. He looked like he was going to same something but a soldier barged into the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt sir but you're needed at the plant...it's Rachel sir"

"Thank you Captain" Monroe replied as he walked towards the door,

"Please get Lt. Neville to escort Miss Evans back to her room" he said to one of the soldiers guarding the door.

Monroe left with the Captain at his heels. Jason came in a few moments later and gently grabbed my arm and walked me to my room.

"I'm sorry" he said as he opened the doors to a small room.

"For what"

"That you're here"

I threw him a confused expression, but he was already closing the doors. I could hear the clicking as the lock slid in place. Despite what Monroe said, we were no guests. As much as I was concerned and no fancy room could persuade me otherwise...

Me and Danny were still prisoners.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10: Dean **

I was mad at her.

After everything we did to try to avoid the militia. There she goes and decides it's a good idea to go after them. And for what? Some boy she met only a few days ago.

She was crazy.

And I was worried about her...

Every fiber of my being was telling me to run after them. To make sure Kayleigh was okay. I knew she would be okay as long as she was with Miles...but I still couldn't help but feel that something had gone wrong. But I knew I couldn't let myself give into the feeling in my gut, I had a job to do.

Monroe had been wanting to push hard against Georgia. He's had his eye on their land for a long time due to their better farming lands, which gave us an advantage. Because the Georgia Federation knew just as well that the rebels were pushing back hard against the militia. We were starting to grow bigger and stronger, becoming an unavoidable nuisance to them; which was causing Monroe to become vulnerable on both sides.

I hadn't stopped walking since I left Kayleigh in Lowell. I was now making my way through Ohio and I guess it was better this way. A man with a sword and bandits would let you keep on walking, knowing you'd be too much trouble. But if Kayleigh was with me...Well, lets just say it wouldn't have been good.

I thought about how I left her...

I guess she was right about me all along. I've never let anyone close...at least not till her.

And I just ended up pushing her away in the end.

She tried, I have to give her credit for that...but its better this way.

No matter how I felt.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11: Kayleigh**

Almost a week.

That's how long it's been since me and Danny arrived in Philly.

I spent most of the time in my room and I hadn't seen Danny since back in Monroe's office when we got here.

Spending all day in this room was driving me crazy.

I spent most of the time sitting along the windowsill; it was slightly curved and fit my small body perfectly that I could stretch my legs straight out. I would sit all day and watch the people go back and forth in the square since my room faced the front of Independence Hall. It was small, only containing a bed, a large wardrobe and small dining table with two chairs. There was a large closet near the back of the room that had been renovated into a bath. The large, white clawed toe bath tub took up most of the space. There was a small golden tinged table, a large mirror with an intricate design along the frame hung over it. My bed was the worst part being an ugly pink mess. The floral patterns on the comforter made me want to vomit; its like they purposely set this room up for a girl and I found it absolutely ridiculous. There was a knock at the door, but before I could even answer it, several woman came barging in with buckets of hot water. They brought them into the bath room and filled the clawed toed tub. They left as quickly as they came, as the door shut behind them I made my way into the bathroom. They had pulled the chair from the table and moved it next to the tub and placed two towels on the chair. I can barely remember the last time I had taken a hot bath. I stripped down quickly and slowly placed one foot in the tub...then two...holding on to the sides I slowly lowered myself into the steaming water. I heaved a heavy sigh, as the hot water encased warmed my body. I had never felt more relaxed in all my life then I did sitting in this bath tub and as soon as the water started to grow cold I got out. I wrapped one of the towels around my head and then the other around my body. Picking up the second towel I found the women had also placed a long, peach colored dress on the chair. Its neckline was higher than most dresses creating a straight line across the collar bone area and its sleeves hung just over my shoulder. The back had large peach buttons that ended half way down my back, leaving a semi-circle like part between the back of the dress and waist line. Its cotton material was soft on my skin, as I slid it on. It was a little loose, but I didn't mind...in fact i'd prefer it that way. I threw my old clothes in the tall, skinny woven basket near the door. I dried my hair as much as I could and then left it down. Using the towel to wipe away the steam that covered the mirror; I looked in, barely recognizing myself. I don't remember the last time I saw myself in a mirror, putting my hands to my face I moved them over my cheeks, freckles and over my ears. Almost believing that who I was looking at was a different person...And I guess in some ways that was true...

I made my way back into the room...knowing that whatever the reason for making me wear this dress, I wasn't eating dinner alone in my room tonight.

I sat at the small dining table and waited. But I didn't have to wait long before someone knocked and entered.

"I'm to escort you to General Monroe"

I turned around to see Jason standing near the door.

"Look i'm sorry. Monroe sent for me to get you. I know i'm not your favorite person right now..." he said, seeing my look of disgust as he came closer.

"I'm being held captive by Monroe and his band of not so merry militia. So don't feel left out, no one here is my favorite person"

I got up and went over to him, "Well, lead the way"

He gently gripped my arm, and lead me back to Monroe's office.

When he opened the doors it wasn't Monroe I saw but Danny, sitting on the couch in his office.

"Monroe will be here shortly" Jason said then shut the doors behind him.

Danny's head turned and when he saw me, he smiled.

"Kayleigh" he said, getting up to his feet and walking over to me.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, "They haven't hurt you, have they?"

"No i'm fine...they haven't-"

"No, i'm okay too"

I was glad to see him, and I couldn't help that it showed on my face.

"Do you know why we're here?" I asked him.

"No, but it can't be good"

"You need a hair cut"

"Thanks, i'll be sure to ask Monroe if he can cut it for me when he gets here...You look beautiful by the way"

"You clean up nice yourself Matheson" I replied, regarding the cotton blue, long sleeved shirt and khaki pants he was wearing.

"I'm sorry Danny"

"About what?"

"That this all happened"

"Haven't we been over this already? You're too hard on yourself you know. None of this is your fault"

"I know you keep telling me it's not my fault, but I still feel like it is. I can't help it" I replied, looking down at my feet.

His hand moved under my chin, lifting my face so that I looked into his eyes.

"I don't blame you"

"You'd be wrong not to"

Before he could say anything else, the doors opened.

But it wasn't Monroe who walked through the door, it was a woman. Long, blonde hair framed her kind looking face. Her blues eyes went straight to Danny. She smiled, tears swelling in her eyes as she looked him over.

"Danny?" She said taking a step forward.

"Mom?"

Monroe never showed up to dinner. From what Jason could tell me they were having rebel problems. He seemed to be trying to get on my good side for everything that had happened and well...I let him. He wasn't obviously going to be telling me trade militia secrets or anything, but he informed me what he could of anything that involved the rebels.

Once we found out Monroe wasn't going to be joining us, some of the tension soothed out. Rachel Matheson, Danny's mother, was alive...She had been Monroe's prisoner the entire time Danny had thought she was dead, and he was only around four when she had left them and came here to Philly. I didn't want to intrude on their reunion so Jason brought me back to my room. After hearing the click of the lock, I went over to the large antique wardrobe and rummaged through it. There was clothing, all about my size filling every space. Cotton dresses, silk pajamas, skirts, undergarments, shear blouses and even a navy blue winter coat with large brown buttons. After taking off the peach dress, I grabbed a set of pajamas; they slid softly onto my body. I've never had fabric as expensive and rare as this. Which just confused me even more; why was Monroe wasting money on things like silk pajamas for me?

I pulled back the pink floral mess of a comforter and slowly moved into bed. Pulling them back over me I was scared to fall asleep. I was afraid of what my dreams would bring tonight. The fear of seeing Dean's face spread over me like wildfire...I never had a good dream with him in it; they always end in thick red blood...even though his face is the one I wished to see most...

I laid still, eyes wide open for at least another hour from fear of the nightmares that were sure to come. But my eyes started to feel heavy...and then started to slowly close...

_Soon enough his face appeared; his messy brown hair, his stormy eyes...even his charming smile...I didn't know where we were...Standing in the middle of an unfamiliar forest. He ran to me, picking me up his arms and hugging me tightly. It felt so real, but it also felt to good to be true...I knew it wouldn't last long...And I was right...Gun fire came from beyond the trees that surrounded us. His hand grabbed mine and we ran as fast as we could...We ran for what felt like miles when suddenly, I could no longer feel his hand in mine. I looked around but he was no where to be seen. I screamed his name...I screamed it until I was blue in the face but it did no good...I was alone once more. _

My eyes opened slowly as daylight shined through the windows of my room, the blankets that had covered me were now in a tangle from having tossed and turned all night. I sat up; pulling my knees in and hugging them, I cried. I cried for Dean, realizing that I had been lying to myself this entire time. I admitted to caring about him...but just how much had always been something that I would push away and ignore, already knowing that nothing could happen between us...Not because of this war...Not because I didn't think he felt the same way...Because I couldn't allow myself to feel anymore than I already did. Letting him go to Annapolis without me had been hard...What would I do if I let myself fall in love with him and he died? Where would I be then?

Right back to where I started. Alone and blaming myself...And I didn't want to be back there.

I pushed the blankets back with my feet and wiped the tears away with my sleeve. I knew I couldn't just sit here and wallow; It didn't help me and it didn't help Danny either. We needed to get out of here and as far from Monroe as we could get.

I shuffled across the cold floor and over to the wardrobe. I pulled off my pajamas, letting them fall to the floor, and rummaged through the clothes. After putting on a thick pair of black leggings, I slipped on a beige, pleated dress. It was a light, and its shear sleeves only two inches wide. Still inside and already feeling the cold air that was still lingering despite it almost being spring, I pulled on my boots and Dean's blue jacket. His jacket was big on me, almost as long as the beige dress that only reached mid-thigh. I held it tight around me for a second before reaching into my shirt and pulling out my hair pin. I jiggled the door handle, just to see if it was really locked...it was...I stuck the pin in and tried picking it. It took me longer then usual but I got the door unlocked. Before opening it I got down to the floor, looking under the small open space between door and floor. I didn't see any military boots and I didn't hear anyone out in the hall. I got back up and slowly opened the door, looking down the hall both ways to make sure no one was coming. I made my way to the room next door and it was locked too. I picked the lock quicker this time and barged in.

Closing the door behind me, I looked around the room. It was similar to mine, a small dresser instead of a large wardrobe. The bed was smaller with dark green covers, there was no small dining table but there were two chairs placed in front of the large, wide windows. It also had a back room that I could only guess was the bathroom.

"Danny?" I said loudly, walking across the hard wood floors.

"Kayleigh? What the hell are you doing!" he said coming out of the bathroom. He was only half dressed...luckily for me it was the bottom half...

"Put a shirt on, we're getting out of here"

"Hold on! You can't just go running out there, you won't make it passed the front door"

"I don't care! I can't take this anymore! Danny we have to try to get out of here, before they decide they've had enough of giving us the VIP treatment"

He pulled a long sleeved mild green shirt from the dresser and after pulling it over his head, he came over to me.

"Kayleigh would you think about this for a second. You can't go running around Philly in broad daylight. They have soldiers everywhere, even if you were to make it out of the building and past the soldiers how are you going to get past the patrolled fence that surrounds the entire city?"

"We have to try don't we?" I replied, my eyes pleading with him to run. He stared back at me, looking almost sorry for me.

"Kayleigh, I would love nothing more then to get the hell out of here, but we'd never make it, it's not worth it...and-"

"And your mother is here too"

"Yeah"

"Fine" I said, turning back towards the door.

"Wait, Kayleigh promise me you won't do anything stupid"

"Sorry can't promise that"

"Kayleigh"

He grabbed my hand,

"Don't do this...Dean wouldn't want you to"

"You don't know what he'd want"

"I know he wouldn't want to see you get hurt or killed"

"Well then I guess it's a good thing he's not here"

I ripped my hand from his and left...but instead of heading out the front door and away from Philly...I headed straight for Monroe's office.

"We apologize sir, she pushed past us...we couldn't stop her" the soldier said as he came up behind me and grabbed my arm.

Monroe, Major Neville, Captain Baker and Sgt. Strauss were all standing around the large dining table in Monroe's office; looking over a map of the Republic's territories. My eyes passed over them, even Strauss, and went straight to Monroe.

"You couldn't stop a little girl Lt.?" Neville replied snidely.

"She's stronger than she looks, sir"

"Everyone out" Monroe said, not taking his own eyes from me.

"But sir-"

"Tom I said get out...Now"

Captain Baker gathered the maps and left quickly, fearing the anger that had risen in Monroe. Neville threw me a look of deep hatred as he walked past and followed Baker out the door. Strauss lingered for a bit, looking me over with an expression on his face that disgusted me...but I ignored him, still glaring at Monroe. Strauss left, closing the blue doors behind him so that it was just me and Monroe in a staring contest.

"So" he said moving to pour himself a glass of whiskey, "Are you going to tell me why you rudely interrupted my meeting or are you going to continue to stand there all day?"

"Are you going to tell me why i'm here or are you going to keep me locked away like some damsel in distress for the rest of my life?"

"You don't seem like a 'damsel in distress' to me"

"Are you always going to avoid my questions"

"No, you're here because I knew you needed a real home. I've been looking for because it was the right thing for me to do...I should have been more clear to my men on the circumstances of the situation the day I sent them after you"

"Why? Why do you care so much?"

"Because...You're my daughter"


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12: Robert&Matt&Dean**

Robert watched his brother as he slept peacefully on the ground, the loud snore that came from his small body made him laugh. His brother was huddled under a red sleeping bag by the fire. The embers sparked up into the sky towards the tall evergreen trees. Robert tried to ignore the sounds of his brothers snores as he listened for any movement beyond the light of the fire. Ohio wasn't a safe place to be traveling...but they had to. Robert had promised his father he would keep Matt safe and the only way to do that was to leave the Monroe Republic...And the fastest way was through Ohio. Because the Kentucky and Ohio border was so long, the Georgia Federation had a hard time patrolling it, especially with the bandits that were known to work the areas; hoping to score off the people that were trying to cross. It was their only chance to cross into the Georgia Federation. There was no longer anything for them here, it was either try to survive on their own or get caught by militia and forced to become child soldiers. There was no way Robert could let his little brother live that way. Winters were brutal and they had barely survived this year...Robert knew going south was the only way to guarantee that they could have a better life.

Suddenly, he heard something coming from behind the trees. Robert grabbed the large rifle he kept by his side and kicked his brother awake without taking his eyes from the trees.

"Robbie, what the-"

"I told you to stop calling me that" he replied softly.

Matt saw the rifle and quickly pushed the sleeping bag off him, getting up he pulled out his pocket knife.

"You're going to poke someones eye out with that...probably your own" Robert told him, moving away from the fire.

The sound of someone walking over old, dry leaves and twigs grew louder and louder as they moved closer to their camp.

A man, maybe a few years older than Roberts seventeen years walked out of the darkness with his hands in the air.

"I don't want trouble, just passing through" he said, seeing the rifle staring him down, "Where are you going?"

"Georgia" Matt replied.

"Why?"

"Matt" Robert said sternly, "shut up"

"You don't want to go there" he said.

"And why not?"

"Bunch of rich, entitled snobs. It's hard enough traveling through the Republic, let alone crossing the border into Georgia. You'll never make it even if you don't get caught by bandits first. You'd be better off living on your own here, trust me"

"Why should we trust anything you say"

"You shouldn't...but i'm telling the truth, I have no reason to lie to you"

"You could be militia"

"I'm definitely not militia" he replied, then he unbuttoned his grey plaid flannel to reveal a small tattoo of a red, white and blue flag. It was plastered on his chest, just over his heart.

"Dean Winchester" he said, buttoning his shirt back up then offering a hand.

Robert slowly lowered his gun and hesitated before walking over and shaking Dean's out reached hand.

"I'm Robert and this is my little brother Matt...So you're a rebel?"

"Never met a rebel before?"

"No, just heard stories of people rising up against the militia under the old American flag...To be honest I never really believed it was true"

"Wanna join?"

"The Resistance?"

"Well, yeah..."

Robert looked desperately at his little brother. Matt was nodding his head; practically jumping up and down at the thought of being a rebel fighter.

"I don't know..."

"Come on Robb" he said shaking his arm, "we need to do this...for dad"

"All right...If what you say about Georgia is true we don't really have any other options do we?"

"Yes!"

"But, you aren't going to be doing any fighting" he said and Matt threw him a disappointed look,

"You're only eight years old, dad wouldn't have wanted you to become a soldier"

Dean watched them curiously, not really sure why he had offered. But if anything it was because the hole left by Kayleigh was growing bigger with every step towards Annapolis. He had gotten so use to having someone by his side that he felt that having Robert and Matt with him could fill the gap...And it wouldn't hurt to have back up in case of bandits.

"He's right" Dean said, "the battle field is no place for a kid"

"So where are we going?" Matt asked Dean excitedly.

"Annapolis, Maryland...Ever been there before?" Dean replied.

"Nope, we had never left Michigan before a few weeks ago" Robert replied.

Dean pulled off his pack and set it on the ground,

"We have a few hours before dawn...We should sleep while we can" he said.

Dean laid back on the ground, using his pack as a pillow. He fell asleep quickly, Matt and Robert watched him in curiosity. Robert was still a bit weary of the rebel but sat back on the ground anyway and waited for Matt to drift off again before he did himself.

"How many militia soldiers have you killed?"

"Matt"

"No, it's all right...to be honest kid i'm not sure anymore...I try to think about it" Dean replied.

It had been almost two weeks and Dean, Robert and Matt were now making their way through a small town in West Virginia. Every militia soldier Dean passed made him even more paranoid then the last. There was something about the presence of the soldiers that worried him...this was a small town, seemingly unimportant, so why were militia soldiers here? Dean kept his head down, afraid that one of the soldiers would recognize him.

"So did you hear about Monroe having a daughter?" a rather large soldier said to another.

"Yeah, crazy right? Who knew the general was such a family man"

Dean stopped in his tracks, looking to the two soldiers who were talking.

"What? Who is she?" Dean going up and asking the chubby militia soldier.

"What's it to you?" Replied the chubby soldier.

"Just curious"

"Heard they found her with some high ranked rebel, probably sleeping with the bastard if you ask me...Didn't even know those scum bags had ranks...Anyway, if it were me i'd kill the bitch for treason"

"What's her name?" Dean asked frantically.

"Somethin' Evans...Kayleigh Evans!"

"Come on" Rob said hitting Dean's arm.

They walked away from the soldiers,

"What the hell was that? What happened to avoiding them as much as possible?"

"It uh...It doesn't matter..." Dean replied.

"Can we get out of here please"

Dean had thought she would have been safe with Miles. He thought she would be okay, it's what allowed him to leave her so easily.

But Dean couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she was Monroe's daughter...

_What if she had known? What if she had been lying to me the whole time...I thought I knew her..._

Dean stopped himself, not wanting to believe that Kayleigh had lied to him. She had been so sincere, so genuine with him especially when it came to talking about her family; there was no way she faked that and there was no way she could be by the side of a man like Monroe. Not after everything he has done to her...She couldn't have known...

"Are you okay?" Matt asked, coming up at a light jog just to catch up to Dean.

"Yeah i'm okay kid"

"Did you know her?"

"Who"

"The girl they were talking about...You looked upset when they said her name"

Rob had been walking ahead of them, but Dean knew he was listening.

"Yeah kid, I knew her. She was my...friend"

"Did you love her"

"Matt!" Rob scolded, turning around and glaring at him, "Leave him alone"

"Sorry" said Matt softly to Dean.

"It's all right kid" Dean said and ruffled the boy's curly blonde hair.

"My mom died when I was three...I don't remember her but I miss her anyway...I'm sorry about your friend"

Rob shifted his pack uncomfortably at the mention of their mother. Dean saw Rob pick up his speed, not wanting to hear his mother mentioned again. Being in the resistance, Dean has seen many lives that have been ruined by the militia's hand. It's what drives him to convince people like Rob that they need to fight back, because he knows what it's like. The loss of loved ones could be motivation enough for someone to do anything...and Dean would exploit that.

"I guess her being the General's daughter is a good thing though" Dean said, looking down at Matt.

"How is that a good thing" Rob turned around to ask.

"Because it means they aren't keeping her as prisoner...It means they won't kill her"


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13: Kayleigh **

"When I first went looking for you, I wanted you to feel at home here. And knowing you're your mothers child I thought this was the best way"

It was mid afternoon on a tuesday. The weather was finally starting to warm up as the season had turned to spring. Monroe had a large object wheeled into my room...By the shape of the object underneath the cloth I already could tell what it was and as Monroe pulled the cloth away he revealed the chestnut brown instrument.

It was a beautiful antique piano.

It looked a lot similar to the one my mother use to play when she was a little girl. I remember flipping through her old photo albums whenever I got the chance to sneak them out from under her bed. There were dozens of pictures of her and her mother sitting at the piano bench, their fingers dancing across the familiar black and white keys.

"It's beautiful" I exclaimed, running my own fingers softly over the piano.

"I thought you'd like it"

"But I don't want it"

"Why not?"

"I don't want anything from you. You can't expect to just win me over with gifts...I may be your daughter, but you're not my family...Giving me fancy dresses, a fancy room, and a piano doesn't change the fact that i'm still a prisoner under your roof"

"Not being there when you were growing up is something I will always regret. I just want to get to know my daughter. I want you to feel at home here, I don't want you to think this is a prison...I just want to give you a home again"

"And I want my family back...but that's not going to happen...So I wouldn't get your hopes up"

He looked at me, he seemed genuinely disappointed, but I could care less about how I hurt his feelings. He was my father, but he could never be a dad to me. It was too late for that now and I wasn't going to let him bribe me into being by his side. He walked out of my room, closing and locking the door behind him. Leaving the piano behind...I had to admit I was tempted to play...But I restrained the urge to let my fingers glide across the glossy keys.

I moved to the window sill, sitting back against the pillows I looked out into the busy streets of Philly. I thought about Danny...I hadn't seen him since I tried to convince him to run with me. That was almost two weeks ago...Who knows what they did with him since then.

I didn't know if he was still alive and I was too afraid to ask.

But I got my answer a few minutes later as the doors to my room swung open and two soldiers pushed the blonde haired boy inside. The soldiers shut and locked the door once again, I could hear the loud thumps of their boots as they walked back down the hall.

"Monroe asked if there was anything I wanted...I told him I wanted to see you" Danny said seeing my confused expression.

He didn't move from his spot in front of the doors and I didn't move from my spot on the window sill.

We stood there for a good five minutes...Waiting for the other to say something..to do anything...

I played with the sleeves ends of my white lace sweater, the sweater being two sizes too big made it loose. Because of the lace fabric of the thin sweater I wore a pale baby blue tank underneath. I had tucked both the tank and sweater into the white pleaded skirt I was wearing due to their big sizes. The white high-low skirt was draped over my side; I pulled it down over my stretched out legs...worrying that it was too short...

I looked nervously at my hands, unsure of what to say to Danny since we didn't part on the best of terms when I had almost attempted an escape. I moved my hands back to playing with the ends of my sleeves and when I looked up again Danny had moved closer, now standing by the piano; only a few feet from me.

"Danny what happened!" I exclaimed, seeing the fresh cuts and bruises on his face. When he didn't answer, I got up and went over to him.

"Why'd you stay" he asked, ignoring my concerned question.

"There was still a question I needed an answer to"

"Did you get it"

"Monroe's my father"

"I know"

"You know?"

"My mom told me"

"Oh right of course...I guess that makes sense that I'm the last to know who my real father is"

"Kayleigh..."

"So you didn't answer me...Why'd they do that to you"

"Because they were bored? Or it could be just because they're a bunch of spineless dicks" he replied.

"Maybe I could talk to Monroe...Maybe-"

"No" he said a little harshly, "I don't want you asking favors from him...not for me...I don't want you to owe him anything"

I nodded in understanding; not able to take my eyes from the deep bruise on his left cheek.

"Do you play?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"I use to" I said, going over and running my fingers lightly over the keys, "I haven't played in years"

"Will you play something" he asked, taking a seat on the short bench in front of the piano.

"I don't know..."

"Please" he said looking up at me with pleading blue eyes.

I moved around the bench so that I sat next to him, the bench was short so that we were nudged against each other. He moved over a little, giving me elbow room as my fingers hesitated over the keys; worrying that I wouldn't remember how to play.

But as soon as they touched down, my fingers danced over them as it all came flowing back. I played softly, stroking the keys of the song my mother use to sing to me and as soon as I got the hang of it again I started to sing as well;

_"It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside _

_I'm not one of those who can easily hide _

_I don't have much money,_

_But boy if I did, _

_I'd buy a big house where we both could live._

_So excuse me forgetting, these things I do,_

_See I've forgotten if, they're green or they're blue._

_Any way the thing is, what I really mean, _

_Yours are the sweetest eyes i've ever seen. _

_And you can tell everybody this is your song,_

_It may be quite simple but now that it's down, I hope you don't mind,_

_I hope you don't mind that I put down in words,_

_How wonderful life is now that you're in the world..."_

My voice faded out as I felt the tears run down my face, and within seconds I stopped playing all together. My fingers froze hanging over the last notes as I began to cry harder. Danny wrapped his arm around and I threw my hands over my face. I leaned into his shoulder and continued to cry into my hands.

"You play beautifully...I'm sorry..." Danny said and he held me even tighter.

I was having dinner with Monroe that night. The growing silence became uncomfortable as I sat two chairs down from him at the long dinning table in his office.

He meekly cut his steak, chewing it silently and every once and a while glancing my way.

"I'm sorry" I said suddenly.

He looked up at me with an intrigued expression.

"I was rude earlier...You were trying to show me kindness...I love the piano..I just can't play it...not anymore"

I started nervously pulling at my white pleaded skirt...

"Why did you do it?" I asked, "Why did you and Miles create the militia..."

"There was no order. Everything was crazy those first six months...a lot of people died, a lot of people were left helpless...we wanted to put back order...we wanted to help people...the funny thing is I never wanted to do this, I let Miles drag me into it...Because it was Miles, he was like a brother to me"

We sat for the rest of dinner in silence. I barely ate anything after that...I had lost my appetite.

Monroe escorted me back to my room when we were finished. He walked leisurely by my side, his hands behind his back. I looked back and could see him fiddling with something in his hands. I turned my head away quickly so he wouldn't catch me staring.

"I want to give you something" he said as we reached my room.

He opened his palm to show me a small locket. He handed it to me,

"Open it"

There was picture inside of a beautiful blonde haired women cradling a little girl in her arms. They were both sporting vibrant smiles, the little girl looking up at her mother with adoring green eyes.

"That's my mother...and..."

"You"

"How long have you had this?" I asked softly, tears swelling in my eyes.

"You were almost two, Sarah gave it to me for my birthday...I thought you should have it"

"Why did you leave her" I asked suddenly, looking away from the locket and into his blue eyes.

"That's a story for another time" he said softly.

He took the locket, unclipping the clasp of the necklace he put it around my neck. I held back my curled hair as he re-clasped it; it fell softly, hanging over my chest. I fiddled with it, feeling the odd texture of the unknown metal. As I turned to look back at Monroe, he was already turning the corner of the hall. The two soldiers who's job it was to watch me, Neville's son Jason and Lt. Marks, ushered me back into my room.

"Jason wait" I said before he closed the door, "can I talk to you"

He waved off Marks and came back into the room and closed the door behind him.

"I need to know something" I told him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's Danny...Why does Monroe want him"

"I can't talk about it"

"You owe me Jason"

"I can't talk about it, because i'm not exactly in the need-to-know...All I know is it's more about his mom then anything...And there is a rumor floating around about it...That it has to do with the power"

"What do you mean the power?"

"You know, how to flip the lights back on"

"But that's insane...How can Danny's mom know about how to turn the power on?!"

"I don't know...But I know that if she does and Monroe gets power...Things will get a lot worse out there" he said quietly.

"And you're going to stand with him"

"I don't have a choice"

"Everyone has a choice" I said as he opened the door to leave.

"I wish that were true"

Jason shut the door behind him, going back to guarding my door with Lt. Marks.

Lit candles illuminated my room, but just barely. I could see someone had pushed the piano back against the wall. I went over and covered the piano with the cloth once more, not wanting to look at it. I sat at the window sill, leaning back against the pillows I watched the people in the court yard. My hand reached up, once again fiddling with the locket. I closed my eyes...

Wishing I had never come out of hiding...

Wishing that I had never went to Chicago...


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14: Dean**

Annapolis, Maryland.

After tedious weeks of walking cross country, bad weather, several injury setbacks and a run in with militia, I had finally made it.

"This is it?" Matt exclaimed as we stood in front of the seemingly abandoned strip mall.

"What do you mean 'this is it', of course this is it. What'd you expect?" I replied.

"I don't know...It's just a bunch of rusty metal monsters scattered every where"

"Those are cars Matt" Rob said to him, scanning the parking lot.

"Well, it wouldn't be good if militia could find us easily now could it?" I told him.

"I guess not..." Matt said, still unimpressed by the rebel base.

"Hey, show us your hands!" a deep voice said from behind.

Matt and Rob slowly raised their hands over our heads, I felt a gun poke into my back.

"Hey? Did you hear me"

There was three of them, I could hear their footsteps moving across the ground.

One of them circled in front of us. He was tall, the light brown tank he was sporting showed off his extremely large muscles. He wore black cargo pants and large black combat boots. He wore his hair in a buzz cut...like he always had.

"Holy shit...I thought you were dead you son of a bitch" he said coming around and seeing my face.

"Is that how you always address a superior officer" I replied smirking.

"Only you" he said laughing.

"It's good to see you Brian" I said, shaking his hand.

"You too Winchester"

"Monroe is struggling,"

Brian had led us into one of the main department stores of the abandoned strip mall. There weren't many rebels here, maybe forty, fifty at most. I was in a small back room they had set up as the main office. A large, torn American flag hung across the wall behind a desk. I was speaking with only a few of the officers; all of whom I knew. First in Command, Commander James Ramsey. I was close with him, after my brother had died he had taken me under his wing and eventually made me Second in Command. Then there was Henry Taggert who's in charge of the New England rebel units and Rick Halder who was in charge of a smaller fleet of rebels in New York. And finally, Captain Brian Smith, he was a good friend and now stood by my side as I addressed Ramsey.

"With the sudden reappearance of Miles Matheson he's become...out of place. With our own rebel forces pushing on the inside and Georgia pushing at the border it should be easy to take him down. He doesn't see us as a major threat and we can use that to our advantage"

"Miles Matheson? You're sure?" Ramsey said, pacing behind his desk, running his fingers through his graying hair.

'Yes sir, he was hiding in Chicago...Just where the rumors said he was"

"You didn't try to capture him?" Halder asked with a disapproving tone.

"He wasn't a threat...I didn't see the need"

"Didn't see the need? He was General of the militia! He built them!" Halder yelled.

"Yes he _was, _as in not any more. No one knew why he left before-"

"Oh and you do now?" Halder asked.

"Yes I do" I didn't take my eyes from Halder, "He tried to assassinate Monroe"

The room was silent, everyone looked to Ramsey waiting for him to be the first to speak.

"It doesn't matter now, like I said he's not a threat" I said breaking the silence.

"How can you be sure?" Ramsey asked.

"Because Monroe has something he wants"

"And what's that?" Taggert asked.

"His nephew"

"Are you saying Miles Matheson is on our side now?"

"Miles is no rebel...but he's no longer with the Monroe Republic either. We should be thankful for that"

"The day I thank Miles Matheson will be the day his head sits on a spike next to Monroe's" Halder replied.

I looked to Ramsey, he was looking down at the desk with his hands clutching the edge. His eyes closed; he seemed to be contemplating the situation.

"Sir, you can't possibly believe that Matheson is suddenly some good samaritan now? Not after all the suffering he caused while with Monroe!" Halder said angrily, not willing to drop the discussion of Miles.

"I honestly don't know what to think of Matheson right now and I won't spend my time worrying about a man who isn't causing us trouble. I'm going to spend my time worrying about the one man who is...You'd be smart and do the same" Ramsey replied with a defiant tone. He let go of the desk, relaxing his arms but standing up straight once more so that he could look into our faces.

"What do you want us to do sir?" Taggert asked.

"Halder, take your ration of weapons and head your regiment back towards New York. Taggert go ahead and do the same, take your fighters to the Hartford base...Let's raise some hell for Monroe and his militia"

After the meeting I went looking for Robert and Matt, I wanted to make sure they had settled in all right.

Rob was situated amongst the fighters; already having patrol duty with Mason and Colin, two guys about the same age as me. They were our best shooters and I knew they'd get along well with Rob. I found Matt helping our only doctor, Jack Sanders, in a large room near the back of the department store. Before the blackout Jack wasn't really a doctor, he was studying to become a Veterinarian and was almost finished school when the lights went out. But he was the only one qualified enough to handle the more serious injuries when we came back from a fight with militia soldiers. Jack was around the same height as me, his dark brown hair was short and spiky and a similar dark brown stubble covered the lower half of his face. Matt was sitting on a stool next to the cot that Jack was plopped on; he was sewing up a woman who had a large gash on her leg.

"See how I make a criss-cross pattern? You want to make sure the stitches stay in long enough for the wound to heal" he was saying to Matt as I came up beside them. He looked up and saw me, a smile spread across his face.

"Give me a second Dean" he said finishing the woman's stitches and wrapping a bandage around the wound , "try to stay off it as much as you can. Tell Taggert I said no patrol duty for you until it fully heals...And make sure to change the bandage and look out for infections"

"Yep, thanks Doc" she replied getting up quickly and leaving the infirmary area at a sprint.

Jack sighed heavily and looked back up at me,

"They never listen do they?"

"Only because it's you Jack...You don't have the best beside manner"

"Yeah you'd think having been at it for six years I would be use to the fact thats it's people and not animals...This is why I wanted to be a Vet in the first place" he replied shaking his head.

"It's good to see you" I said, reaching a hand.

"You too kid" he said accepting it.

"He's not giving you any trouble is he?" I asked, nodding my head towards Matt.

"Nope, not at all! He's been helpful actually...I've always said I've need an assistant, but all any one wants to do is fight!"

"It's funny you should say that...I had the intention of bringing you one, but our paths seemed to have split on the way back here"

"Well I hope where ever he is, whatever he's doing it's more important then the work being done here if he was so willing to leave"

"She...and in her mind it was"

He just looked at me funny, then laughed to himself...

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing" he replied quickly, "how would you like to be my new assistant then Matt?"

"Really?!" he said, jumping off the stool in excitement, almost knocking it over.

"Of course...as long as your brother's okay with it"

"Yes!" he said, running off in search of his brother.

"So you want to talk about it?" Jack said to me as he cleaned up the bloody bandages.

"Talk about what?" I said going over and helping him.

"The almost my assistant girl you're obviously infatuated with...Did you break your rule and sleep with her more than once?" he asked, laughing like it was a joke.

"Shut up, I didn't sleep with her...And who the hell still says 'infatuated'?"

He turned to me, his blue eyes wide in astonishment.

"Well I never thought i'd see the day that a girl came and hooked Dean Winchester like a fish...Must be some girl"

"It wasn't like that"

"Oh no, of course it wasn't" he replied sarcastically throwing his hands up in defense. He walked over to a trash bin and tossed the dirty bandages in it. When he turned around he had a wide, smirking smile slapped across his face.

"She saved my life...Twice...If it wasn't for her I wouldn't be standing here. We went through a lot...I owe her a lot. Let's just leave it at that"

"All right...Well, it's good to have you back here" he said coming over and smacking me on the back.

"It's good to be home"


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15: Kayleigh **

"Where's Danny?"

I was standing in front of Monroe in his office, the rain pounded hard against the window. It had started the night before and still showed no signs of slowing down.

"We had to move him to a different location" Monroe replied without looking up from a letter he was reading.

"Why?"

"Are you going to be constantly annoying me with things that don't concern you" he said angrily throwing the letter back onto his desk and leaning back in his chair.

"Yes"

"You're here because you're my daughter...If you start getting into these things I won't be able to stop them from hurting you. They already believe you're a rebel Kayleigh"

"So i'm just supposed to sit and play the doting daughter while you torture my friend for no reason"

"It's not for no reason I can assure you that...It's very important"

"Nothing is important enough that you need to torture an eighteen year old boy to get what you want...It' sick...And you think I care about what your soldiers think of me? You think I care that it makes you look bad? I don't want to be here. I don't need you to be my father, i'm eighteen it's too late for that and nothing you do for me or give me can change that"

I fiddled with the loose strand of thread that was hanging from my jean shorts. He didn't say anything...He was just sitting there, staring at me with those deep blue eyes. I couldn't read his face, it was stone cold as he thought over what I had said. I knew he didn't like to be told off...especially when it was me who was doing it, but if he was angry I couldn't tell. There was a loud knock at the door.

"What!" Monroe yelled in irritation.

Major Neville walked in with a sense of urgency, he threw me a weary glance then turned his attention back to Monroe.

"It's...Miles Matheson sir...He's in the city"

"How do you know" Monroe said standing up.

"Waverley is one of our best agents, yesterday we received a coded message from him saying Miles Matheson was making his way through the subway tunnels"

"Where is Waverley now?"

"He's...dead sir"

"So," Monroe moved towards Neville, "Miles is here...either for his nephew or for me"

"Sir, maybe it would be best if you and Mrs. Evans were to go to the Boston house...Just to be safe"

Monroe moved closer to Neville,

"Run away? Is that what you're telling me in all your wisdom?"

"I'm just trying to be cautious"

"I don't run" he replied coldly, "I'm at a critical point with Rachel Matheson and we are days away from an all out border war with Georgia...Just find him Tom, we clear?"

Neville nodded and without saying anything else he left as quickly as he had come. Monroe moved so that he was standing in front of me,

"You know it's funny," he said playing with the end of my braid, "You look nothing like your mother...Sarah always told me you looked more like me...except for-"

"My eyes...I have my grandmother's eyes"

"Come with me" he said suddenly.

I followed Monroe out of Independence Hall, he had a soldier run and get two horses ready. Getting onto the horses Monroe led me away from the city. After an hour of riding through the woods and rain we came upon a large power plant. As we rode closer, two guards opened the gate and saluted Monroe as we rode through. A soldier took the horses for us as Monroe led me into the plant. We made our way past strange metal machines and through long, twisting hallways until Monroe stopped in front of a door. He unlocked and pushed it open, then gestured for me to go in. When I entered he closed the door and locked it.

"Hey!" I said banging on the door. I could hear the stomping of his boots as he moved back down the hall.

"Kayleigh?" a strained voice said from behind.

I moved down the short, skinny hall that led into a large room. Beams and pipes criss-crossed near the ceiling and lanterns and old chandeliers hung from them lighting up the room. There were folded tables and desks scattered, and as I moved away from the door I could see a large couch situated in the middle of the room...and Danny lying on the floor in front of if.

"Danny!" I ran to him, kneeling on the floor, I tried to help him sit up. He was in a lot of pain, he seemed faint and his breathing was also strained.

"I'm so sorry Danny" I said, pushing his hair away from his eyes.

"I'll be okay" he said taking my hand, "Why are you here?"

"I don't know, Monroe brought me here...Come on, let's get you on the couch"

I put my arms around him and helped lift him from the floor and onto the couch. He bite his lip and held his side in pain as he leaned back against the ripped brown cushion. I sat beside him, wrapping both my hands around his I tried to give him a smile. I could only hope that if Miles really was in the city, then they were coming soon to get Danny out...I just hoped it was before Monroe let his men do anything else to him.

"Danny, Miles is in the city...He's coming for you, he's going to get you out of here" I said softly.

"You mean he's going to get _us _out of here" Danny replied.

"Of course..."

"Kayleigh-"

But before he could say anything else several soldiers came bursting into the room, pushing Charlie and Rachel along with them.

"Danny!" Charlie exclaimed when she saw him. I let go of his hands and moved off the couch so she could sit with him.

"Rachel, it must be nice to finally have both your children back" Monroe said entering the room, "Hello Charlotte, it's nice to finally meet you...I'm General Monroe"

"What did you do to my son"

"I am completely and utterly done playing games with you Rachel" he said harshly, "You know what that is right?"

He pointed to a strange looking object sitting on top of the desk, pieces and tools scattered all around it.

"An amplifier" she replied, a terrified look swept across her face.

"A real one. You friend Dr. Jaffer was building me a new one as a back up, that is until you shoved a screw driver into his chest"

"Mom?" Charlie said, looking up at her mother was a concerned glance.

"Oh i'm sure there is a lot about your mother that you don't know...You've seen one of these pendants right?" he said holding up a small, almost triangular shaped silver pendant on a chain, "Know what it can do? Well that machine can amplify its range. It makes jets fly, tanks roll and your mother is going to finish it for me"

"Mom what's he talking about?" Charlie asked frantically.

"She's going to be a real patriot...isn't that right Rachel?" Monroe replied with a satisfying smile.

"Mom, look at me. Whatever he's asking you to do...you can't do it" Charlie said.

"Is that so?" Monroe said, almost laughing. Monroe nodded and waved to Strauss who proceeded to load his revolver with bullets.

I looked at Danny and Charlie who shifted nervously and then I looked to Monroe. He caught my eye then moved his attention to Jason who had been standing off in the back.

"Lt. Neville...Please escort my daughter down to one of the holding cells...as far from this room as you can get"

Jason hesitated, but a hard glance from Monroe sent him flying to me. He grabbed my arm gently and started to pull me from the room.

"No, don't do this! You don't have to do this! Please...Dad!" I screamed as Jason struggled to restrain me.

Lt. Marks came and grabbed my other arm, helping Jason pull me from the room.

"I'm sorry" I could hear Strauss say, "but you need to choose which one of your children i'm going to kill"

Jason and Marks pulled me out the door and into the hall, I kicked and punched as Rachel's voice was the last thing I heard.

"You son of a bitch!" she screamed.

I could feel tears run down my cheeks as I listened for the dreadful sound of the gun firing...but it never came.

"I got it from here" Jason said to Marks, he looked at Jason for a moment before letting go of my arm and heading back to Monroe.

After Marks had turned one of the many corners, Jason loosened his grip and put his arm around my shoulders.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, continuing to guide me down the hall of the plant.

He led me to a small room. It only had a small cot and there was a high, thin barred window but it didn't let in much light.

"How can you stand with a man like that?" I asked Jason before he closed the door.

"I don't know..." he said softly before closing and locking the door.

I woke up to the sound of gun fire.

I don't know how long I had been asleep for but what I could tell from peering out the thin window above the bed it was late in the afternoon. There was a small square window on the door of my prison, but it the glass was too clouded and dirty for me to see anything. Because of the echoes from the gun fire it was hard to tell where it was coming from. It had to be Miles...He had to have come to get Danny out and I could only hope he would come for me as well...

I banged on the door as hard as I could with my fists,

"HELP!"

I screamed and banged on the door for at least fifteen minutes before someone finally came...It was Jason.

"Come on" he said, "I'm getting you out of here"

"Jason what's going on?" I asked.

"It's Miles, he's in the plant. I don't know where. Charlie and Danny escaped on their own though...It's crazy out there, if you get out now they'll think that Miles freed you" He said, looking out the door to make sure no militia soldiers were coming down the hall.

"Why are you helping me"

"Like you said before...I owe you"

"They could kill you for this"

"If they find out...Come on, you need to go now before Monroe sends someone to check on you"

He pulled the gun from his belt holster and handed it to me.

"I'm not a gun person"

"Well, you're going to have to be" he said and then showed me how to use it; It made me nervous...I didn't like it.

"Go to the right...Try to stay away from the fighting. Get out as fast as you can...Don't be afraid to use it" he told me nodding to the gun.

He started to walk in the opposite direction,

"Jason" I said, he turned and looked back at me, "Thank you"

I ran down the hall, trying to find my way out. I made my way towards the front of the plant, as it started to look familiar from when Monroe first brought me here. I heard rapid gun fire coming from where I had seen the large metal machines. I poked my head around the corner and saw militia soldiers from high above, on walkways that ran above the machines...I also saw Danny and Charlie crouching behind one of them, Charlie was wielding a large gun. She seemed to know as much as I did about how to use it. From where I was standing I could see a door leading to the outside...But I didn't take it, instead I found myself running towards Danny and Charlie...and the gun fire. Charlie saw me coming and tried shooting to give me cover, but it didn't help as I felt a stinging pain hit my shoulder.

I stumbled forward, but I had gotten close enough that Danny was able to pull me back behind the machine.

"Kayleigh-"

"Danny, I'm fine it just grazed me" I said holding my hand over the wound. I pulled the thick black belt from around my jean shorts and wrapped it over the wound, Danny helped me as Charlie continued to fire rounds at the soldiers.

"Dammit it!" she yelled as the gun jammed up.

She threw it aside and I handed her the one Jason gave me. Then there was a sudden silence, the soldiers had stopped firing.

"I don't see them anymore" she said looking back.

Danny was still hurting bad, Me and Charlie helped him up and tried to make a run for the door when a militia soldier came around the corner. Before Charlie could fire the gun, Miles had come from behind and shoved his sword through the soldiers back.

"Miles" Charlie said softly as he pulled his sword from the man's body and let him fall to the floor.

"Hey"

"Wait...You're uncle Miles?"

"And i'm guessing your the reason we're in so much trouble. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine"

"What the hell happened to you?" Miles said looking at me.

"I got shot, what's your excuse"

"I knew I liked you" Nora said coming up behind Miles, "Come on, we gotta get out of here"

"No wait, we have to get my mom" Charlie said

"Your mom...Rachel's alive?" Miles asked.

"Yeah, Monroe's been keeping her as a prisoner" Charlie replied.

"Okay..." he said running his hands through his hair, something he seemed to do under pressure, "Get Danny out of here"

More gun shots started to come from the walkways again, Miles turned and fired back,

"Go!" he yelled.

With me and Charlie supporting Danny, Nora led us out of the plant. We shuffled through debris of metal materials and rusty trucks scattered through the grounds of the plant. Nora stopped, as we hid behind some of the metal debris. There were two soldiers standing guard of the way out.

Rachel came running the way we had come out,

"Where's Miles?" I asked looking back at the plant.

"He'll be here...How do we get out?" she asked going up to Nora.

"Aaron's on it" she replied.

"Aaron...Aaron Pittman?"

Suddenly there was a large explosion, concrete debris flew everywhere and knocked the two soldiers to the ground.

"Come on!" Nora said to us as she started to run for the large gapping hole in the wall surrounding the plant.

We followed her, jumping over the rubble of concrete and through the gapping hole.

"Rachel?!" Aaron said seeing the blonde haired woman running towards him.

"I know" she said with a big smile and hugging him, "I'll explain later"

Charlie stayed near the large hole, as I helped Danny get as far as we could from the falling dirt that had been kicked up from the explosion.

"Your...arm" he said coughing.

"I told you, i'll be fine...I've had worse..." I said, looking up I saw Charlie and Miles running towards us.

We started to make a run for the woods when a strange thumping noise made us turn to look back at the plant. A large metal machine rose into the sky, propellers spun atop it rapidly, as it rose higher and higher. I grabbed Danny's hand in fear, never having seen anything like it before and he tightened his grip...He was just as scared as I was...

"Run!" Miles yelled.

But we didn't need him to tell us as the machine headed straight for us. Bullets flew just inches behind our feet, kicking up dirt and plants as they hit the ground.

We followed Miles, who knew the area better then any of us. He led us to an abandoned diner, pushing us through the door. I looked back just to see as the machine made it's way over the tree top and came to hover in front of the diner. Miles ushered us into a small room in the back and we sat on the dirty concrete floor huddled around each other. The room was made of a thick metal like material and he shut the door just in time as an explosion erupted within the diner. I wrapped my arms around Danny and closed my eyes. We could feel the heat seeping through, but the explosion didn't penetrate our little metal bomb shelter.

"Come on, they're gonna come looking for the bodies. We gotta get out of here" Miles said.

"Where?" Charlie asked as Miles helped her off the floor.

"As far from Philly as we can get"

Miles pushed open the door, smoke came flying into the room as we made our way out. We watched the flying machine disappear over the tree tops before leaving the diner.

"How the hell are we going to get out of here" Nora said.

"I have a plan" Miles replied.

It wasn't so much the small enclosed space that bothered me, but that every pump made the pain in my bullet wound more intense. Miles had wrapped it properly so that I didn't need to use my belt anymore, but blood was already starting to seep through bandages. Miles plan was raiding the wagon that would carry the bodies of the dead soldiers and use it to get out of the cities wall. Nora and Charlie were driving the wagon dressed as militia soldiers, while the rest of us were hiding in wooden coffins. I gripped my locket tightly as the wagon came to a stop, we must have reached the south gate.

"Cargo?" I heard a man say.

"Coming from the city morgue" Nora replied.

"Let's check em' out" the man said.

"Buddy they're just corpses"

"We're on lock down" he replied.

"Why whats going on?" Charlie asked.

"Escaped fugitives...They also kidnapped the General's daughter...A couple of men, some women too"

"Uh huh...Look we're just trying to do our job" Charlie replied.

"Me too...Open em' up" he said.

I could hear Nora and Charlie jump from the front of the wagon as several people came around to the back. Someone had pulled the tarp that covered the coffins back, letting the light from the soldiers torches fall over the coffins and leak through the cracks.

"That one" the man said, I could hear his fist knock on the coffin.

Someone one jumped in the back of the wagon and proceeded to open the coffins lid.

"The smells killer, huh?" Charlie's voice was close, the coffin they had opened was the one next to mine...We got lucky.

Soon enough I could feel the wagon start to move again as the soldiers had opened the gates to let us through. I had never thought I would be here, leaving Philly...And I owed that to Jason...I never would have guessed he'd be the one to free me.

We rode through the night, just as the sun rose the wagon came to a stop once more. Nora and Charlie opened up the coffins to let us out. Seeing Charlie and Danny finally reunited made me smile...Despite everything I couldn't help but feel happy for Danny, he had his family back...But I also couldn't help but feel jealous because I would never get my family back...I would never have that again...I didn't want to feel that way towards him, I was angry at myself that I was. He must have seen something in my face because after embracing his sister he came over to me.

"Hey you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be"

"Just everything with Monroe and you..."

"He was going to kill you Danny...he was _okay _with killing you, like it was just another monday for him"

"But whether either of us like it or not he's your father"

"That man is not my father...look I don't want to talk about this...and I swear to god Danny if you mention it again i'll-"

"You'll break my fingers?" he said smiling.

"Probably" I said smugly, "Don't worry about me Danny, i''l be okay"

"Hey you two, lets go" Miles called from by the wagon.

"So Rachel," Aaron said as we started to walk down a thin beaten path, "Turns out you're not the mild mannered house wife I thought you were"

"I've been through a lot Aaron, not now all right?" she replied.

"Oh i'm sorry, it's just you're alive which is you know, news worthy. And you knew about the necklaces and the blackout"

"Aaron"

"Rachel, when ben gave me that necklace it drove me nuts and almost got us all killed. I deserve an explanation"

"Right we all do" Charlie chimed in.

"I know and I will explain everything, all right...It's complicated"

Suddenly, the thumping sound from the flying machine filled the air.

"Under the trees!" Miles yelled as the large monster flew closer.

We ran under the cover of the forest but it didn't matter because it flew right over us.

"Where are they going?" Danny asked as we watched it fly away.

"West Chester's that way" Miles replied.

"There's a rebel base in West Chester"


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16: Kayleigh**

We were running towards a large abandoned office building just as the machines were flying over head back towards Philly. Nora looked upon the building in terror. She was the first one in as we waited for the machine to go out of sight.

"Is anybody alive?" Aaron asked as we had chased Nora into one of the rooms. We found her kneeling before a body, her hands tightly wrapped around a pair of still, bloody hands.

"No" she replied, tears building in her eyes.

"I've never seen anything like this" Charlie said.

There were at least a dozen bodies, all lying still in a pool of their own blood. A bullet torn American Flag hung limply on the wall behind a desk. I felt Danny's hand grab mine as I turned away from the lifeless bodies...

"This is what war use to look like...before the blackout" Miles replied softly.

"Miles I gotta go" Nora said getting up quickly.

"Go where?"

"Central Command"

"What's Central Command?" Danny asked.

"Rebel headquarters in downtown Annapolis. I gotta tell them about this" Nora replied.

"I'm coming with you" I told her.

"Yeah me too" Danny said.

"No...No way" Aaron said.

"If they hit this base they're are going to hit the rest, we have to warn them" Charlie said.

"I hung in there okay, through some very bad times. But we did it, we found Danny. So please, let's go home"

"What home? Sooner or later Monroe will find us, there's no home to go back to" Rachel said.

"Then we leave the Monroe Republic" Aaron replied.

"It's all going to be the Monroe Republic. I gave Monroe the amplifier, he has the helicopters because of me. All of this, is because of me. If it's not up to me to stop him then who?" Rachel said angrily.

"Rachel, it's too late. How is anybody going to win this with muskets and crossbows?" said Miles.

"Then we get some bigger guns" she replied.

"Yeah, how?"

"What if I was able to get the rebels missile launchers, thermal guidance surface to air?" she said, mostly directing the question to Nora.

Nora and Miles exchanged uncertain looks,

"Rachel," Miles said, "fire power like that takes imaging systems, tracking chips...It takes power"

"Monroe has power" she replied, "lets get some of our own"

We headed back to where we hid the wagon and the two horses that pulled it.

"There's a guy I use to work with not far from here, he can help us" Rachel said.

"And this co-worker of your has power?" Aaron asked.

Rachel flashed him an annoyed glance,

"Right, I get it, you can't explain it" he said.

"You know i'm coming with you right? Somebody's gotta keep you in one piece" Miles said to Rachel.

"And...and that's you? Your the one who's going to make sure nothing bad happens to me?" Rachel replied harshly.

There was obvious tension between them, I knew they had history with Miles being her brother in law but other then that... i'm not exactly sure how to label it...

"Well, it's not a discussion Rachel...You guys see the choppers coming you run, understand? Get out of sight" he said turning to the rest of us.

Rachel turned to Danny and Charlie, the previous tension wiped away with a loving smile towards her children.

"I'm proud of you, both of you...I'll see you soon" she said to them.

"Just come back this time...okay?" Danny replied.

"I promise"

Miles and Rachel boarded the wagon; Danny and Charlie watched as their mother disappeared down the beaten road.

"She'll be back" I heard Danny whisper to Charlie.

But she only nodded, standing in silence as we could no longer see the wagon, Miles or Rachel.

It was a strange but familiar feeling as we headed to Annapolis. Nora took lead with Aaron as Charlie and Danny walked a little ways behind them and me lingering at the rear of the group. It would only take about a day to get to Annapolis from here, I could only hope that it would be enough time. I kept thinking about all those people...all the blood...it just reminded me of my nightmares and made me scared of what else Monroe would do now that he has power. But if Rachel was able to get power too it could be a major turning point for the rebels, we might actually have a chance at taking him down. I started fiddling with the locket again...I hated that he gave it to me, I hated that he showed me kindness...that he tried to act like a father to me, like he cared...But I wasn't going to get rid of it...The locket was from my mother and had the only picture of me and her together. If it weren't for the photos I always carried around me with I would have forgotten what she looked like and I didn't want that to happen, I didn't want to forget her...

"Hey, Kayleigh"

I looked up and Charlie had left Danny's side. I smiled as she slowed down so that she walked beside me.

"How's your arm?" she asked me.

"It's fine"

"I wanted to thank you"

"For what?"

"For taking care of him"

"I didn't do anything"

"You did, trust me...He cares about you, you know?"

"He tolerates me" I replied

"He told me about everything that happened before...And I wanted to thank you, i'm sure it was hard to leave your friend to come and help get him back"

"Don't look too much into it, I was just helping Miles"

"It doesn't matter who you were doing it for...I still appreciate everything you've done for him"

She picked up her pace so that she caught up to Nora and Aaron and I picked up mine so that I walked beside Danny.

"What were you two talking about" he asked.

"Nothing...She was just asking about my arm..."

"Are you excited?"

"About what?"

"Being able to see Dean again...Despite the circumstances" he replied with a strained tone.

"Haven't really thought about it..."

Which was of course a lie.

"Really? I would have thought you would be"

"He didn't exactly part with me on the best of terms"

"You never told me that, you just said he needed to get to Annapolis"

"Yes and he wanted me to come with him still and I told him I couldn't because of you...he wasn't happy about it"

"Maybe he was jealous"

"Why would he be jealous..."

"Do I have to spell it out for you"

"It's not like that with us, we're just...friends"

"Right, but the guy obviously has a thing you for"

"Funny, he said the same thing about you...that day when you were captured again after we found him"

"And?"

"And your both wrong"

"But what if I do"

"What if you-"

"What if I do like you, who are you to say that I don't?"

I stopped walking, looking up at him with questioning eyes I couldn't tell if he was being serious or just trying to make a point.

"Come on, we have to keep up. We're behind as it is" he said when I didn't answer.

We arrived in Annapolis the next morning, Nora led us through the city and towards a small strip mall. Just like most places, it was riddled in rusty cars, trucks and even bikes. Plants, weeds and trees were growing through large cracks in the old parking lot. We made our way through the rubble and mess of vehicles. It wasn't what I expected, there was no sign of life anywhere but I guess the rebels would prefer it that way. The strip mall was made of small department stores for clothes and shoes. There was also a hardware store and even a Cinema...I'm not really sure what a Cinema is, but the large curvy letters had attracted my attention.

"Um, Nora" Aaron said from behind, "I think we found your rebel base"

We turned around to see Aaron with his hands in the air, three men standing a few feet away with rifles trained on him. Nora showed her rebel tattoo and one of the men led us inside, but didn't lower their weapons.

We walked into what use to be a large clothing department store, it was mostly empty except of the aisles of cots near the back that made up their infirmary. At least a dozen people took up those cots now, injured and bloody.

"Well, I can't believe it" said a dark skinned man.

"Nicholas" Nora replied, running over and embracing the man. The soldier who had escorted us in had disappeared near the back, going into what looked like an office.

"Nora, you are a sight for sore eyes" he said.

She smiled up at him, then he turned his attention on Charlie.

"Charlie right?" he said to her and she nodded with a small smile of her own.

"Meet Commander Ramsey" Nicholas said as a man with greying hair and a tired face came over from the back room.

"It's an honor sir" Nora said to Ramsey.

"Well, I don't know about that...I'm not a commander of much anymore" he replied.

"I was in a unit in Rockville when they came and caught us by surprise" Nicholas said mostly to me, seeing me staring at the injured people, "I hope to never see anything like that again"

I continued to stare at the infirmary, there was only one man and a boy, maybe nine years old working between the dozen injured. I ran over to the man, he was struggling with a woman whose side was bleeding profusely.

"What can I do to help?" I said to him.

He looked up at me with intense blue eyes,

"I need to cut her open, get the bullet out...it's going to hurt, I need you to hold her down"

I moved to where her head was and held her shoulders down. She was delirious but she was still awake.

"Ready?" he asked with a small scalpel in his hand.

"Are you asking me or her"

"I guess it doesn't really matter"

"Then go ahead"

He made the incision and started to work. I watched as he pulled the bullet out skillfully; half way through it the woman had passed out so there wasn't much I had needed to do.

"Can you clean and sew a wound" he asked me.

"Yeah"

"All right then" he said handing me bandages and a sewing kit, then he moved on to another patient.

"We've been here five minutes and you're already cleaning wounds and sewing people up" I heard Danny's voice from next to me.

I didn't look up, I was focused on the women's gapping wound.

"Just trying to help the only way I can" I replied.

"Ramsey's doubtful the resistance will make it" he said talking in a low voice and coming closer.

"And they probably won't...not unless Miles and your mom can get us power" I replied softly.

I finished the stitching on the women, I looked up and saw the little boy comforting a young man who didn't look like he was going to make it. I went over to them and sat on the cot beside the little boy.

"I'm Kayleigh" I said to him, he was holding down a large piece of cloth over a gapping wound on his stomach, blood pouring out like a rapid river.

"Matt" he replied, his hands shaking as the blood seeped over them.

I looked around for the man from before but he was working on another woman in just as bad condition.

"Here let me do that" I told him, he moved his hands and I applied pressure.

I smiled at him,

"Can you get me some more rags to stop the bleeding?" I asked him, I knew more wouldn't do much to hold in what had already spilled out of his body, but I wanted to keep the boy busy. He shouldn't have to sit and watch people die.

He smiled and nodded then ran off towards come cabinets on the other side of the cots.

"It's...okay..." the young man said, "I know...I-I'm not gonna...make it"

He started to cough, blood spilled from his mouth as he did. He was maybe my age, maybe younger. He was skinny, his mangled blonde hair was cropped short like most of the men around here. He grabbed my hand that was now covered in his blood, he held it tight despite his weak state,

"Don't leave me" he asked with tears in his eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere" I said with a reassuring smile.

He reached his other hand up and pulled a necklace from around his neck and placed it in my palm.

"Here..." he said, his voice hoarse and fading, "Will you hang on to it for me, I won't be needing it anymore"

I nodded, looking down I saw that it was a gold cross. I held it tightly as I wrapped my hands around his once more.

He suddenly went still, I checked his pulse but couldn't feel one. Matt had come back over with empty hands,

"We're out of clean rags" he said

"It's all right...He's gone...What was his name?" I asked.

"James...people called him Jimmy" Matt replied and came around to sit next to me.

Jimmy's eyes were still open, I swept my hand gently over them so that they closed...

"Did he have any family..." I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No...You said your name is Kayleigh" he asked.

"Yeah...Why?"

"Kayleigh" a deep voice said, I looked up and found myself staring into the eyes of a familiar face.

"Dean..."

* * *

Okay i've been posting a lot because I can...just an FYI, i've just starting writing chapter 37 so I probably won't stagger the posts until I get close to catching up...which means it'll be totally random based on when I can get to wifi.

yep yep, so anyways thanks for reading! :)


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17: Dean**

My horse galloped as fast as he could as we made our way through the back roads. The Rockville rebel unit had been hit hard by militia soldiers leaving dozens injured. I had made my way to a patrol unit in Hagerstown to warn them, they scattered and were making they're way to Annapolis as I rushed back. I tied up the horse behind the department store with the rest. Joanna beth, a rebel and a friend came and watered him for me.

"Did you warn them in time?" she asked helping me unstrap the saddle.

"Yeah, they're making their way here now" I replied.

"I got it" she said taking the saddle and throwing it over a rack that had been set up for tack, "Go report to Ramsey"

"Thanks" I said running into the department store from the back.

I looked in Ramsey's office, half a glass of whiskey sat on his desk but he wasn't in there. I made my way through the department store, I was about to walk straight past the infirmary when someone caught my eye. I would have said I was seeing things if I hadn't heard Matt calling her Kayleigh...

"Kayleigh?" I said, I had never expected to see her again and just stood there in shock. She just sat there and stared back, not surprised to see me here and she shouldn't be.

"Dean...is there somewhere I can wash the blood of my hands" she said ignoring me and turning to Matt.

"Uh, Yeah, i'll show you" he replied, looking back and forth between the two of us.

She draped a white sheet over Jimmy's body before following Matt away from the infirmary. I caught Jack's eye as he was doing the same with the woman he had been working on. He came over to me,

"How many did we lose" I asked him, looking at Jimmy's body.

"Fifteen people died in Rockville from the first wave of helicopters that hit them...Jimmy and Carla make nineteen since they got here...That's not including the West Chester unit"

"The West Chester unit was hit?"

"Yeah, your friend over there" Jack said nodding to where Kayleigh had gone with Matt, "Came in with some people, one of them being Nora Clayton. They apparently came across the unit after escaping Monroe...No one survived"

"Where's Ramsey?"

"Over there, still talking with Nora" he replied, nodding towards the front of the store.

I made my way over to Ramsey who was in a heated discussion with a latino women and Aaron Pittman.

"Ah, Nora, Aaron this is my second in Command Dean Winchester"

"Yeah we've already met" Aaron said shaking my hand.

"They were just filling me in on Monroe" Ramsey said, "And apparently Miles Matheson is getting power for us...If you can believe it"

"Well let's hope he can sir, we're going to need all the help we can get no matter who it's from"

"We appreciate you coming and we hope your friends will make it back before Monroe's men get here" Ramsey said to Nora.

Ramsey and I headed back to his office, he handed me a glass of whiskey then sat back in his chair.

"So, what do you think of Matheson helping the rebels? You believe this?" he said rubbing his eyes in exhaustion.

"I met him back in Chicago...From what I could tell he has no reason to go back to Monroe, and every reason to stick with us and fight"

"That's good enough for me"

I chugged down the whiskey in one fowl swig, Ramsey watched me with curiosity then he leaned forward in his chair.

"What about this Evans girl? Rumor is she's Monroe's daughter..." he said eyeing me sharply.

"The rumors are true" I replied.

"Jack told me you were close with her...said it was_ 'serious'" _

"He misunderstood me"

"Having her here is not just a danger to us but to that girl...some of the men found out and believe she's a spy, they don't trust her. They want her out and you know how some of them can be"

"She's no spy...I trust her with my life, Commander. She's strong, stubborn, outspoken...She's a fighter...Kayleigh lost the only real family she ever had because of Monroe, just like most of the people here. He's no father to her, she doesn't see him that way and she never will...She's one of us, she has as much of a right to be here as any of them do" I answered angrily. I didn't know how Kayleigh really felt about any of this...but if I knew her as well as I think I do...Its what I would picture she would say...

"All right, all right settle down Dean...Just doing my job" he said holding up his glass. He finished off the last of his whiskey and waved me off.

"Go on, get the men ready...A storm's coming and it's going to be a big one"

After talking with Ramsey I made my way back towards the infirmary to look for Kayleigh.

"Hey Matt where'd-"

"Shes in the back room where the washing basin is" he replied already knowing I was going to ask about Kayleigh.

"Thanks" I said, jogging past the aisles of cots and towards the back of the department store. I slowly peeked around the door frame, Kayleigh was standing over a sink, pouring water from a bottle into her hands. Tears were falling from her eyes as she violently scrubbed the blood from her fingers. When she looked up and saw me in the doorway her hands stopped their rigorous back and forth motion. She completely froze in place, but continued to cry in front of me...something she always hated...

"Here," I said walking towards her, "Let me help"

I grabbed the sponge she was using to scrub with from her. I lifted one of her hands and gently started to remove the caked blood. She didn't push me back and she didn't refuse. She just watched my face as I wiped away the stained blood. I ignored her harden look as I moved to the next hand...There was no doubt in my mind that she was angry with me, it was all over her face...When I finished I put down the sponge but continued to hold her hand. I could feel it tense up, but she still didn't reject me or walk away. So I took that as a slightly good sign.

"I never thought I would see you again" I said trying to break the tension between us.

"Neither did I" she replied, her voice coming out small and broken.

"When I heard about what happened in Noblesville...You have to know how much I wanted to come for you...And not because I felt like I owed you something, after everything you've been through because of me...but I couldn't I was needed-"

"You were needed here...I know. You made that perfectly clear in Lowell"

"It killed me, every day...it still does"

"They came back...the nightmares...not too long after you left me...And I needed you. I would wake screaming, thinking it would be okay because you'd be at my side...and it would kill me to turn and not see you next to me...I needed you"

"Kayleigh I know-"

"No you don't! I hated feeling that way. I hated that I was a stupid, selfish little girl...wishing that you had been there for me, when you were off doing something so important"

"I'm sorry"

"Yeah I am too, Dean"

She shook my hand off hers and walked out of the room, wiping the tears that were still falling from her eyes. I watched her walk away, it was only then that I noticed she had was wearing my blue jacket because she pulled it tightly around herself as she walked back to the infirmary. But even that couldn't make me smile as I followed her out, making my way to Ramsey who was gathering everyone together.

"Go on, tell them what you told me" Nora said to Charlie.

"Major Neville just sent word to Monroe to hit us with an air strike"

"How do you know?" Someone asked from the crowd of rebels.

"Because Neville's son told me"

"He's militia"

"We can trust him" Kayleigh said loudly.

"Right because we can trust anything you're gonna say" said the same voice.

"Yes, we can" Nora replied coldly, glaring at the man.

"How long do we have?" Ramsey asked.

"Twelve hours" Charlie replied.

"Okay, they're coming at us with the big guns. We aren't going to be able to evacuate all the wounded in time. So I vote, we make our stand" Ramsey said walking around, staring at every single person.

"It's a hell of a long shot sir" Nicholas said.

"Miles and Rachel will be here with those missiles" Nora said to him.

"And if they're not?"

"Use the guns we do have" Ramsey said, "I say we send a message to Monroe that he can't do to us what the Russians or Germans couldn't...And if we go down, we go down as Americans...I need volunteers, people who'll go out front and be the first line of defense against the choppers"

Nora was the first to raise her hand, then the Matheson girl and Nicholas. Brian, Mason, Colin and Robert were standing together near the store windows and all raised their hands high, looking on in confidence. Then I looked to Danny, his hand slowly raised up...And soon after I raised my own. Ramsey nodded, silently letting me know I would be the one to lead them in the first wave. Then I looked back and saw Kayleigh's hand raised high, she looked determined and ignored Danny's look of unease.

"All right...Let's get to work"

Those who could started to set up sand bag walls as cover from the fire that would be coming from the choppers while others passed out guns and as much ammo as we could spare to each person. I helped stack for a while before going back into the department store. I was making my way to a small room in the back that they had provided for me when I got back. It was more like a large closet and was big enough to only fit a small cot and a chair. It was perfect.

I sat on the cot and reaching underneath it, I pulled out my pack. I placed it on my lap and stared at it for a long moment before opening it.

I grabbed my nine mil gun and it's magazine, clipping it in I cocked it and stuck it in the back of my pants, pulling my long sleeved grey shirt back over it. I threw my pack onto the cot and left the room. I was walking back towards the front of the store when I heard two people arguing in the wash room. I recognized the voices as Kayleigh and Danny.

"There's no way in hell i'm staying in here!" I heard her yell at him.

"You'd be better off helping Jack with the wounded then out there in the fight...I'm not just saying that because I don't want you out there...It just makes more sense for you to help as a doctor then as a fighter" he replied, not yelling but trying to reason with her softly.

"Militia shoot to kill, Danny...There won't be anyone to patch up once the choppers hit. Their fire power is too big...There won't be much for Jack to do"

"Kayleigh...Please"

I peeked in the doorway and saw Kayleigh was sitting on top of the counter, fiddling with a locket that hung around her neck. Danny moved in close, taking his hand and putting it under her chin, he softly forced her to look up at him. That's when I walked away...I knew what was going to happen next and I wasn't about to stick around for that.

I had always known she deserved better then me...And she had found better in Danny Matheson.

"Hey, you all right?" Jack said, stopping me as I was passing the infirmary.

"Yeah i'm fine" I said a little too harshly.

"Have you seen Kayleigh? Matt was asking for her, he wanted to know if she was going to help us in here"

"I don't think-"

"Of course I am Jack" I heard her voice say from behind and I turned around just as she was brushing past me, she looked flustered and avoided my gaze,

"Where do you want me?"


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18: Kayleigh**

I was sitting with Matt on one of the cots. We both were staring intently at the boarded up windows, we couldn't see anything of what was going on...All we could hear was the loud gun fire and shouting...Suddenly there was a loud explosion, we could hear the debris hit the glass windows and it shook the ground. Matt threw his arms around me, more scared for his brother out there fighting then from the explosion. I closed my eyes and held him tightly right back, stroking his tangled, curly hair to try and sooth him. Jack was standing by the door, watching for the signal that it was okay to come out and grab any injured, and the time came as we heard the loud propellers of the helicopters fly over the building and away from the battle field. As soon as the sound of the chopper was gone, Jack ran out to help bring any injured inside while me and Matt stood up, prepared to help.

_He'll be here...Miles will come...he'll come with the weapons..._

I said it over and over again in my head, praying that it was true...hoping that the more I said it the more likely he'd come charging into the fight and save us.

Jack came back and so did a tangle of people with him. Aaron and a few rebels were helping two injured men and a woman inside, all with bullet wounds.

Jack got to work right away on the worst of them, the woman who had taken two bullets; one in the chest and one mid thigh. One of the men had taken a bullet to the shoulder which Matt graciously started to work on as I took on the other.

I helped Aaron get him onto the cot, I thanked him as Aaron and the non-injured soldiers ran back outside. We could already hear the loud thumping sound approaching the strip mall once more.

"What's your name?" I said to the young man.

"Brian..." he said in pain, his hand gripped the metal bar that was the side of the cot.

"Kayleigh" I said as I examined his injury. But instead of a bullet hole, I found a piece of metal shrapnel lodged in his side, just under his ribcage.

"You're not looking at me like that because i'm gonna die are you?" he asked, seeing an overwhelming expression on my face.

"No...I just...I've never dealt with anything like this before"

"Dean trusts you...I trust you"

I looked at him as blood started to spill faster from his wound. I grabbed as many clean pieces of cloth I could and placed them close enough that I could grab them but so that they were also far from all the blood before I needed to use them.

"I have to pull it out"

"Do it"

I gripped the edge of the shrapnel that stuck out and hesitated before pulling it out of his side. He yelled in pain, gripping the metal bars of the cot with both hands now, as I threw the pieces of cloth over the wound and applied pressure. I looked up, still pushing the cloths down over the now large gapping hole in his side, trying to slow the bleeding. Matt was finished the man with the shoulder, I didn't need to say anything as he saw me look at him. He ran straight to me,

"What do I do" he asked almost in confidence even with fear plastered on his small face.

"Put pressure on the wound, don't take your hands away until I say so" I told him with a thankful smile. He nodded and came next to me. We quickly switched positions, Matt quickly took over holding down the cloths, which blood was now starting to leak through. I got up, moving quickly through the cots and over to the supplies, I grabbed bandages, a small bit of what drugs/remedies Jack had been able to procure for pain, and a sewing kit.

I placed them on the floor beside the cot, and grabbed the strange pasty green substance for pain and infections.

"Here" I said leaning over so I could put it in Brian's mouth, "You're gonna want this"

"No"

"Your pain is already-"

"No...Save it for someone else" he said pushing my hand away.

I nodded then looked at Matt,

"Move over a bit, but don't remove your hands"

I moved to the other side of the cot with the bandages and sewing kit, kneeling beside Matt I saw that Brian's wound was still bleeding more profusely then it should. The piece of shrapnel wasn't that big and blood was still spilling fast.

"What's the matter?" Matt asked, seeing me freeze up.

"I'm sorry...This is going to hurt" I said to Brian, "Matt, remove it"

As soon as he did, I took my finger and stuck it in his wound, trying to feel for the piece of shrapnel that was still stuck in his side. Brian bite his lip, moaning in pain. He was gripping the metal bars so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. I could feel the something that didn't belong, it was lodged in his body but I was able to pull it out and luckily without causing anymore damage. I started to sew up his wound as Matt did his best to wipe away all the blood. I stayed with Brian when I finished, making sure that I hadn't missed anything or that he wasn't going to pass out from blood loss. I looked around, realizing that no other wounded had been brought in...then realizing it was because most had probably fallen...

There was more shouting above the gun fire and Matt ran to the door.

"Matt!" I yelled after him, but not wanting to leave Brian's side.

He didn't go out but stood and looked out the glass door, a sudden smile spread across his pale face.

"It's him! He came with the weapons!" he yelled excitedly.

I smiled and started to tear up as relief swept over me. Brian grabbed my hand, closing his eyes a huge smile was on his face as he gave a loud sigh of relief himself. I looked back and Jack was doing CPR on the women he had been working on and the smile faded from my face. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he angrily pushed his hands over her heart. I let go of Brian's hand and went over to Jack, as I stood beside him he didn't slow down the rhythmic motions as he tried to revive her. I felt her pulse and it was gone, I let him go on for another minute and checked her pulse again before placing my hand over his,

"She's gone" I told him softly.

He slowed the CPR, then he stopped completely. Stepping back he wiped the sweat from his face with his blue shirt. He violently threw a glass container from one of the counters against the wall. Yelling in anger he kicked the low cabinet door, over and over again he did this until it fell off. When it did he gripped the edge of the counter, breathing heavily as I moved towards him. Matt had moved back to standing beside Brian, who was sitting up on the cot as they both watched Jack. I put my hand on his shoulder,

"Jack..." I whispered.

"I'm sorry" he whispered.

Suddenly, there was another loud explosion. Like before, debris flew at the window and the ground shook beneath our feet. Matt was about to run back to the door to watch when I stopped him,

"No Matt! Stay away from the door!" I yelled and ran to him, kneeling on the floor in front of him so that we were at the same height.

"But Robert is out there!" he said frantically.

"Listen to me, he wouldn't want you to get hurt. You have to be brave for him Matt...He needs you to be brave"

He wrapped his arms around me and I hugged him tightly back. I could feel his tears drip onto my neck; he was trying to muffle the sounds of his cries by pushing his face harder into me.

There was another explosion, even bigger then the last two...

Cheers erupted from outside...From our side...I turned back to Jack, he had covered the woman with a white sheet and was now running towards the door along with the man that had the shoulder wound. They ran outside as Me, Matt and Brian waited in silence...Waiting for word that it was over. I stood up now, Matt grabbed my hand tightly; not wanting me to leave him. There was deep silence...The sound of the choppers were gone...No guns were being fired and no one was shouting or cheering anymore...That's when I heard a faint cry from a girl break out...I didn't know what was happening and I was too scared to look because I recognized the cry as Charlie Matheson...It had been the same one that broke out when we were on the train trying to get Danny back from Neville.

"Matt I have to go out there...Promise me you'll stay inside...Keep an eye on our patient" I said smiling at Brian.

He only nodded before sitting down on the cot next to Brian. Brian looked down at him and smiled, then I turned back towards the door and slowly made my way out. I threw my hand over my eyes to shield the bright sun light and as my eyes adjusted I saw what I had been dreading...

Charlie was straddled over Danny's still body, she was pressing her jacket over his chest as Rachel kneeled on the ground beside him, holding Danny's hand to her lips and crying.

An empty, cold feeling swept over me...The same one I felt the day I watched my brothers die...I felt light headed...Sick to my stomach...I could feel my legs start to give out...Dean caught my arm and held me up, wrapping an arm around my waist as the other held my hand. I looked up at him apologetically as he steered me back into the department store. He sat me down at the cot beside Brian and Matt, they both watched me in concern. My hands drooped limply on my lap as Dean kneeled in front of me, he was so tall compared to me that I didn't even have to look down to look into his face.

"You're bleeding" I said, seeing the thick red liquid slowly making its way from the top of his head and down the side of his face. I tried to wipe the blood away with my thumb.

"Kayleigh..." he said, taking my hand away from his face.

"He kissed me. He kissed me and I pushed him away. I told him I couldn't because it wouldn't be fair because I'm in love with you. But I cared about him. What if he didn't know I cared about him. What if he didn't know" I rambled on, as tears started to stream down my face.

"He knew...He knew, Kayleigh"

Dean got up and sat next to me, pulling me in he wrapped his arms around me. I could see Matt still sitting next to Brian on the cot across from us, both of them watching me with helpless expressions.

I closed my eyes...

I wanted to wake up from this nightmare...

But no matter how hard I tried,

I couldn't...

My eyes flittered open, I was lying on a bed in a very tiny room. It was mostly dark except for a lantern that hung on the wall, its flame burning low. I turned over and saw Dean sitting in a chair in the corner. His head was resting on his fist as he was fast asleep. I pulled the blanket off me and swung my legs off the bed. I jumped back in shock at the cold tiled floor, then grabbing my socks from out of my boots I pulled them on. As I was strapping up my boots, Dean stirred in his chair.

"Where are you going?"

I looked up and saw that he was sitting forward, rubbing his still tired eyes. I tried my best to avoid eye contact with him, realizing that I had spat out something that I hadn't really known myself until I had said it...

"Jack is going to need me to help with the wounded"

"Kayleigh, you don't need to do that"

"But I want too"

"They're going to bury them later today...Ramsey wants to leave as soon as we can afterwards. It's not safe here anymore"

He was still watching me intently as I finished strapping up my boots. I didn't get up from the cot, I just continued to sit there as we both stared at each other from opposite ends of the minuscule room. I anxiously played with the loose thread hanging from my shorts...Not really sure what to say to him...just having him stare at me was making me even more nervous. It was bad enough that I had blurted out I loved him, but I did it in front of Matt and Brian who I barely knew. He hadn't mentioned it yet and I was hoping that he wouldn't ever...

"Did you mean it..."

_Oh, here we go..._

"Mean what..."

"You know what" he replied back firmly, seeing right through me.

"Do we have to do this now" I said getting up.

"It's a simple question either you meant it or you didn't"

He ran to the door first, blocking my way out and he held my arms so that I couldn't turn away from him.

"Yes," I said looking up into his blue-grey eyes, "yes I meant it...I love you, so go ahead gloat, make some clever remark or-"

He shut me up as he leaned in and kissed me. His lips molding fiercely with mine as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He turned me around and pushed me up against the door. His hands moved to my waist as he pressed his body against mine. All of the growing tension and anger I had for him from the last few days just exploded into passion. But he suddenly pulled his lips away from mine,

"Sorry" he said letting go of me and turning away. He ran his fingers through his hair and his face had turned a bright red.

"For what"

"Moving too fast. I just...I don't want to push you into anything...Not when you're vulnerable"

"Vulnerable?"

"You just lost someone...yesterday...You cared about him"

"But I-"

"You need to time to grieve for him"

"You started this"

"I know and now i'm finishing it. I'm not saying I don't want to be with you...because I do, just so you know. I'm just saying we shouldn't be jumping into whatever this is right now"

I did love Danny...Maybe not in the same way as I do Dean, but he was right it was too soon...to fast...

"I'm sorry" he said.

"No it's okay, you're right...How long..."

"How long what?"

"How long have you waited for me to say it" I asked realizing how quick he had been to react when I told him I loved him.

"Long enough"

I held Matt's hand tightly as we watched them lower his brother's body into one of the graves. One of the explosions had sent shrapnel into several places in his body, he had bled out on the ground and no one even knew until they had done a sweep. I looked down at Matt, his face was stained in tears...He had no family left...But I continued to hold his hand as he picked up a handful of dirt and threw it into his brothers grave...I wanted him to know he wasn't alone, he still had me. I bent down, grabbing dirt I did the same. Then Dean and Mason started to shovel the rest of the dirt back into the grave. Everyone was gathered to together as we one-by-one buried each person who had been killed in the fight. We had only lost seven people...I had expected more and it probably would have been if Miles hadn't gotten here when he did...Or if Danny hadn't shot the missile at the helicopter with the power source when Miles fell back from an explosion...Danny had saved our lives and died in the process...He had become a hero to all of us.

When it was his turn to be buried, I could feel Matt's grip tighten on my hand...Letting me know it was his turn to be there for me...For a kid his age he was more mature then anyone would expect from him and I guess he had to be...There was no time for a normal childhood, not in this world...And like most he had learned it the hard way. I looked to Charlie...her face was emotionless and harden from her most recent loss. After losing Maggie...And now, she had just gotten her brother back, and in a second he was gone...She had already lost so much, she didn't need him added to the list.

After Dean stuck the grave marker on Danny's grave he came to stand next to me, holding my free hand and squeezing it tightly. Everyone stood for a few moments in silence for those who had died. Then we dispersed to prepare to move out and away from Annapolis.

I went to help Jack check on the wounded, those who had to stand behind in the department store due to their injuries. I went first to Brian, who was in a bad mood because he couldn't go to the funeral.

"I told you i'm fine" he said as I checked his wound to make sure it hadn't festered.

"You had a piece of metal stuck in your side. You are not 'fine'"

"It was barely the size of a quarter"

I threw him an disapproving glance.

"Okay so it was the size of my fist but i've had worse that I walked away from"

"Yes except you didn't have me as a doctor. I think you should be on bed rest for another day or two just in case"

He groaned, falling back onto the cot.

"Don't do that, you're gonna rip your stitches"

"He isn't giving you crap is he catnip? If you want you can smack him around a bit, that usually works for me" Dean said with a smile, coming over and sitting on the cot next to Brian.

"You're not the one who has to be on bed rest for another two days while this thing heals" Brian replied.

"I'd cooperate with the bed rest thing...Trust me you don't want to push it" Dean replied, remembering he had been the same way not so long ago.

"I trust you as far as I can throw you Winchester"

"Ignore him, he can be a grouch when he's on injured reserve" Dean whispered to me, "How's Matt doing"

"He's been through a lot..It's going to take some time" I replied, looking over to where Matt was sitting in the corner of the room by himself.

"Can you keep an eye on him for me, there's a lot I have to do with getting ready for the move to Lexington"

"Yeah of course"

"Thanks" he said and kissed my forehead softly. He left, going towards Ramsey's office.

I turned back to look at Brian, who was smiling wickedly,

"Well, there's no surprise there" he said, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.

I helped Jack finish the check ups on the injured then helped him pack away what medical supplies we had left and load them onto a wagon.

"Are you okay?" I asked, noticing he was particularly silent as we worked.

"Yeah I will be...I'm just still not used to losing people..."

"We probably never will be" I replied.

"I guess your right...I'm just glad I have you and Matt, makes it less over whelming"

I smiled, loading the last box of supplies. What we had barely took up any space in the wagon.

"We'll have to go easy until we can get to lexington" he said seeing it too.

"Hey Jack! Ramsey wants to start getting the injured into the wagons" Mason said coming over to us.

"All right, go ahead and take a break, me and Mason can handle the injured" Jack said to me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, go check on Matt for me okay?"

"Sure"

I went looking in the department store, but he had moved from his spot in the corner of the room. I looked every where for him, and eventually found him by Robert's grave...I slowly walked over and sat cross-legged next to him. He had been crying and tried to hide it from me, and I pretended not to notice him wipe away the tears from his eyes. I didn't say anything...He didn't need to hear me say how sorry I was about his brother...he had heard that enough for one day. So I did the only thing I could do, which was sit next to him and hold his hand...Just continuing to let him know I was there for him, that he didn't need to be alone in all of this.

"Who's going to look after me now?" he said after a while, looking up at me with sad brown eyes.

"I will"

He threw his arms around me, hugging me tightly I thought he was never going to let go.


	19. Chapter 19

PART TWO

**_Part 2: ...And Into the Light _**

**CHAPTER 19: Kayleigh**

It had been at least two weeks since Annapolis and we were in what the rebels called 'Echo Base', which was a large abandoned hospital off one of the old major highways. Dean was busy off in a meeting with Ramsey and some other officers while me and Matt were helping Jack with the injured.

"I don't want to take the stitches out yet, but you can be off bed rest now" I said to Brian as I examined his wound, "But-"

"Here we go..." he mumbled.

"Take it easy please"

"Yeah, yeah" he said waving me off, "How's the kid doing?"

I looked over at Matt, he was helping Jack with another patient.

"He still isn't talking much and he's been having nightmares...but he won't admit it"

"And he probably won't. Trying to be brave like his brother" Brian said as we watched him with Jack, "he's lucky to have you though"

"I don't know about that...I'm not really in any better condition then he is"

"Having the nightmares again?"

"Yeah...the screaming in my sleep has thankfully stopped though"

"Dean said you weren't having them anymore"

"That's because I told him I wasn't. He already has so much on his plate, I don't want to worry him with my silly problems"

"He would want to know"

"You aren't going to tattle on me are you?"

"It's not my business to tell him if you don't want me to"

"I don't"

"Then my lips are sealed...But I still think you should talk to him"

"I'll think about it. Go on, I know you're itching to get out of here and be on your feet again"

"Thanks Kayleigh" he said, practically leaping out of the bed and pecking my cheek as he left the large, unbearably white room. I heaved a heavy sigh, knowing he wasn't going to take it easy like I said and probably be back in here within the hour.

"Hey kid, how about some lunch?" I asked, going over to Matt and ruffling his curly hair.

"Okay" he said, "Thanks Jack"

"No problem, it's nice to have someone eager to learn"

Me and Matt headed for the mess hall on the first floor, Ally Anderson, who was Mason's little sister and a girl named Joanna Beth had whipped up what food they could for everyone. We had been lucky a few days ago, raiding a small militia camp we were able to get several boxes of canned food which Jo and Ally had prepared for us. Jo was about the same height and only a few years older then me, she had long, curly strawberry blonde hair that almost fell to her elbows. She had a sweet face and from what I heard was one of the small few who was crazy good with a sniper rifle. Ally, only fourteen years old, was short like Matt and had dark brown hair. It was easy to tell she and Mason were brother and sister; the same small nose, chubby, rosy cheekbones (despite their fit physiques) and their light blue eyes. Ally didn't do any fighting, Mason wouldn't let her until she was older, so she mostly helped prepare what food there was for the rebels and was pretty good with a cross bow when we went hunting. Ally greeted me and Matt with a smile as we grabbed a bowl of beans from the table.

"Sorry the rations are so small" she said still smiling brightly, "we're trying to make it last"

"That's all right, thanks Ally" I smiled back.

"Enjoy!" she said cheerfully as we went to take a seat at one of the tables. We sat there in silence and after a while Matt still hadn't touched his food.

"Not hungry?"

"No..." he replied quietly.

"Is it because of your nightmares"

"I don't-"

"Matt" I said sternly, "It's okay if you are...You don't have to tell me about them if you don't want to, but don't lie to me and tell me they aren't happening"

He didn't answer, he looked shamefully down at his hands. I could tell he wanted to cry but he held it in.

"I have them too you know"

His head snapped up, "You do...because of Danny"

"Yes and no...I've been having them for a long time. I lost my mom when I was about your age and my brothers a few years later. I know how it feels Matt...It sucks"

"I didn't know you had brothers"

"I had two. They took care of me, always looking out for me...Rob loved you Matt you know that right?"

"Yeah...I miss him..."

"I know" I said taking his hand, "I know"

I brought Matt back to our room so he could get some sleep and he made me stay with him.

"Just in case I have a nightmare..." he said softly.

He laid down on the bed and I sat next to him, leaning back against the pillows. He fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. I knew because a loud snore erupted from his small body. Only a few minutes had passed when the door to our room opened.

"Hey" Dean said, signaling for me to come over to him. I went over, but didn't leave the room so that Matt wouldn't wake up and not find me there.

"What's going on?" I asked, seeing his serious rebel commander face on.

"Miles thinks he has a way to take down Monroe, him and Nora have left to look for one of his old militia officers. He says that he can help teach us how to fight, how to beat him and militia" he replied in a whisper.

"How does he know he can trust him after all these years?"

"Says he was one of the guys who helped with the assassination back before he ran"

"Do you think he'll help"

"I don't know...But we need all the help we can get, no matter who it's from" he said then looked at Matt sleeping on the bed, "How is he?"

"He's doing better...sort of" I said turning back to look at him as well.

"And how are you doing?" he asked, stroking my cheek.

"Not so good..." I replied, remembering my conversation with Brian.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I'm still having the nightmares. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't want to worry you with it"

He gave a heavy sigh and rubbed his eyes,

"I hate when you use that excuse. You aren't worrying me with anything. I'd rather you have told me"

"I know, i'm sorry" I said biting my lower lip, "don't be mad"

He leaned in and kissed me softly,

"I'm not mad" he said, "I have patrol with Mason and Colin, so I guess i'll see you late this afternoon?"

"Are you sure you're not mad..."

"Yes, i'm sure" he said laughing and then gave me one last kiss before heading back to Ramsey. I went to the pack sitting on a chair, pulling a book from it I went back by Matt. I opened to where I had left off in 'The Hunger Games' and read until I fell asleep.

A loud, blaring alarm woke me and Matt up from our afternoon nap. It had made me jump from the bed and knock my book to the floor.

"What's going on?" Matt said, his voice low and scared.

"Pack your stuff!" I said getting up and grabbing my bag off the chair. Matt quickly threw his things into his small blue bag, taking his hand we made our way down the halls of the hospital.

"Jack, what's going on?" I asked as we entered the infirmary, which was in chaos as they tried to help the injured from their beds.

"Patrols spotted militia coming straight here...in trucks"

"Trucks? But I thought Danny blew up the amplifier!"

"Apparently Monroe got another one"

We helped Jack get the patients out of the hospital and back into the wagon, they drove the wagon into the back woods behind the hospital. Rebels were all running around, gathering what they could and heading in the same direction.

"Kayleigh come on!" Brian said running up to me and pulling me away from the hospital.

"Wait, where's Dean?" I said frantically.

"He's coming, he sent me to find you and get you two out of here...Now let's go!"

I didn't want to leave without knowing Dean had made it out before militia got here, but I had Matt to think about too. We made our way into the woods at a sprint, following the tracks of the wagon. Brian did his best to cover them up as we ran, but soon gave it up.

"Ally have you seen Charlie?" I asked as we caught up to her and Jo.

"I saw them come out of the hospital but haven't seen them since" she replied.

"Who was she with"

"The chubby bearded guy" Jo said.

"Aaron?"

"Yeah him!" Ally replied almost too cheerfully. I looked back down the path towards the hospital,

"No don't go back!" Matt said tugging on my jacket sleeve, "don't leave me"

I held in the urge to go back for them and Dean,

"I'm not gonna leave you" I told him.

We stayed with Ally and Jo as we followed the rest of the group, which was being led by Mason and Colin. Matt started to slow, his feet became sore and blistered because his boots were a size to small. Brian lifted him up on to his back and carried him, to which Matt soon fell asleep...I swear that kid could sleep anywhere...Dean and Commander Ramsey were still no where to be seen, along with Charlie, Aaron and Rachel. Hopefully they would catch up to us...and hopefully Miles and Nora could find us once they returned from their mission.

"He'll be okay" Brian said, catching my worried glances back behind us, "If I know anything about Dean Winchester, I know that he is of all things a tough son of a bitch"

"Do you need a break from him?" I asked, nodding towards Matt.

'Nah, i'll be good for another couple miles"

Despite Brain's reassurance of Dean's capability I still couldn't help but continue to look back behind me, hoping I would see him and everyone else who was still missing coming right up behind us. After walking what felt like a hundred miles, we made it to the spot where they told everyone to head in case of a militia raid. Some rebels had already made it when our small group arrived, I looked around but didn't see Dean, Charlie, Rachel or Aaron. They had already started to set up tents, Brian set one up for the three of us to share, Matt was still asleep so Brian put him down then came and sat beside the fire with me.

"Let me check your side" I said.

"I'm okay"

"You carried Matt almost the whole way, you probably ripped your stitches"

He gave in as I continued to pester him about it. And I was right, because as soon as I lifted his shirt I could see the stitches had started to come apart and his wound was slightly bleeding again. I fixed him up, Ally came by with water and a small piece of bread for us and she left one for Matt as well.

"Happy now?" Brian said as I let him put his shirt back down.

"Very" I replied with a smile.

"You should get some sleep" he said as I leaned back against a log branch they had set up around the fire as benches.

"I'm fine"

"I can wake you up when he comes"

"I'm fine...You go ahead though"

He didn't move either, he sat beside me as everyone started to settle into tents. Colin and Mason came to join us, they had volunteered to stay awake and keep watch for staggering rebels or even militia. I hadn't really been formally introduced to Colin yet, he had pale skin and black hair. He also had a thick irish accent but was quiet compared to the rowdiness of Mason and Brian. And he was much shorter and skinnier then Mason and Brian who were filled out in muscle. But like Jo, he was more skilled with a gun then when it came to fighting hand to hand combat. Mason and Colin were arguing about the preferable weapon when Brian tapped my shoulder and pointed to something behind me. I turned to see Charlie, Aaron and Rachel making their way into camp...And a little father behind them was Commander Ramsey and Dean. I ran to Dean, throwing my arms around him, I nearly knocked him to the ground.

"Worried about me Catnip?" He whispered in my ear.

"Always" I whispered back.

Pulling away I noticed his shirt sleeve was soaked in blood.

"Are you all right?"

"I just got nicked by a bullet"

"Oh that's all?" I said sarcastically.

"You can play doctor on me if you want" he said with a mocking smile as he put his hands on my waist.

I leaned in like I was going to kiss him and let my lips stop right in front of his,

"I don't think so" I said and lightly smacked his cheek, "Go to Jack"

We walked back to the fire when Nora and Miles came running up to camp, a dark skinned man who had to be Miles old militia buddy, slowly following behind them.

"Hey what happened? We got back to echo base and it was a mess" Nora said.

"Long story...I'm just glad you found us" Aaron said coming up to them.

"Where's Charlie and Rachel?" Miles asked looking around camp.

"Over there" I replied, "Miles wait a second-"

But he ignored me and started walking towards Charlie and Rachel, Nora and Aaron both threw me apologetic looks before following Miles. I watched in a mix of confusion and jealousy as Miles hugged Charlie. He had been doing everything he could to avoid me ever since they rescued me and Danny...It didn't take a genius to see why, he had his real family back now...

He didn't need me anymore...


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER 20: Kayleigh**

"You missed training today" Dean said, coming up to me in the infirmary. We had made it to the Lexington Base, it was a lot bigger then the one in Annapolis and was occupied with a lot more rebels. The biggest building of several on the base had been cleared out and was being used for training. From what it looked like the buildings seemed to have been used as some sort of factory or storage facility before the blackout. Miles and his militia friend, Jim Hudson, were teaching the rebels how to fight with swords today.

"And yesterday...And the day before that" he said coming and leaning against the sink I was using to clean bandages.

"I've been busy"

"I can see that..." he said looking over his shoulder and into the sink, "Are you sure this has nothing to do with Miles?"

"Of course not"

He leaned in, trying to look me in the eye. I glanced at him and he was giving me the 'I don't believe you' stare.

"Shouldn't you be ordering people around or something, Commander" I said, bringing the bandages over to a rack and hanging them to dry.

"Maybe if you weren't keeping yourself 'busy' in here all the time you would have heard that I stepped down as 2nd in command"

"What! Why?"

"If we're going to beat Monroe we need someone to stand with Ramsey, someone who can really lead us. So...Miles is our new Commanding Officer while Ramsey is between rebel bases..."

"And the rebels are okay with that?" I said going back over to Dean, who was still leaning against the sink.

"Well they have to be...Besides after Annapolis they seem to be starting to trust him"

I pushed myself up so that I sat on the counter next to Dean and held his hands in my lap as he turned to face me,

"And are you okay with this?" I asked twisting the gold band that was around his finger.

"Hell yeah! I hated being Second in Command, it was stressful and I barely had time for anything...or anyone" he said with a smile, then leaned in to kiss me.

"Have you seen Matt today?" I asked when are lips parted.

"Yeah, he's been watching the training all day. He was upset though, said you won't let him join in"

"I don't want him fighting. Rob wouldn't have wanted it either, he's only eight"

"Look I get it...And I'm not saying let him sign up for patrol or a raid or hand him a sword or anything like that, but just that it wouldn't hurt for him to at least know how to protect himself"

"I guess..."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes, okay he can join in. You'll look after him won't you?"

"Of course" he replied. He kissed me again, this time on the forehead, then each cheek before moving on to my lips.

"Oy, get a room!" Brian said coming towards us and throwing one of the wet bandages at Dean.

"What do you want Smith?"

"Me, you, Colin and Mason have watch duty. Hudson and Matheson are setting up some 'spy' thingy. I don't know what the hell it is but they want to go over it with us before we head out"

"All right...See you later tonight?" Dean said turning back to me.

I smiled and nodded yes to him,

"Be careful"

"Always" he replied and gave me one last kiss. I watched him leave with Brian, then after checking on those still recovering I left the infirmary in search of Matt.

I found him sitting outside the training building, sitting on top of an old blue chevy truck. I jumped up and scooted over the hood of the car till I sat so our elbows were touching.

"Hey kid" I said ruffling his curly hair.

"Hey" he replied so quietly it was less than a whisper.

"I'm sorry, I know you wanted to train with them today"

"It's okay"

"Dean said I should let you, so that you know how to protect yourself"

"And you said no?" he asked already sounding disappointed.

"No, I said yes" I replied smiling down at him.

"Really?" he said excitedly.

"It's only training...I'm not letting you go out there and fight or anything, not even patrol of course. But you should know at least how...just in case"

"Thank you, thank you! Thank you!" he said throwing his arms around me, "I'm going to go tell Jack!"

He jumped off the wagon and ran back towards the infirmary excitedly. I smiled as I watched him sprint into the building, I hadn't seen him so happy before and it was a nice thing to see. My head turned to see Miles, Nora and Charlie leading a man with a bag over his head into the training building. I froze, having to take a few minutes to digest what I had just seen before running back up the path and into the building after them.

"You can't be serious" I yelled at Miles, "Look at what happened because of him! Danny, Robert, all the other people who died in the air strike that he called!"

"We are not killing him" Miles replied, "not yet anyway"

The man they had led into the building earlier had been none other then Major Tom Neville.

"We need information from him Kayleigh...I know you're angry and upset-"

"No, no you don't know. Because you've been avoiding me ever since we left Philly, so you don't know how I feel, and you don't know what i've been through because of that man. So don't pretend to care about me now"

I stormed off before he could say anything else. I had finally found some peace with Dean and with Matt since Danny's death and being here helping the rebels and it all came flooding back just from that one little argument with Miles. Everything. My brothers, my parents...my _real_ parents...The things that happened to me the three years before I made it to Chicago and everything in between.

"Are you all right?"

The thick irish accent was enough to make me stop and look up from my angry power walk back to the infirmary,

"Colin...Yes I'm fine. Have you seen Dean?" I asked, realizing they must have come back from patrol already.

"He just went up to the infirmary with Brian...Brian ripped his stitches again"

"Thank you, Colin"

I ran into the building and straight to the infirmary, I looked around to see Jack fixing up Brian's ripped stitches with Dean standing beside them.

"If you keep ripping your stitches i'm going to get Kayleigh to make you go back to bed rest till you're fully healed" said Jack.

"That doesn't scare me..." Brian said, though seemingly a little unsure of his own statement.

"It should" I said walking over to them. I went right up to Dean and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face into his jacket.

"Bad day?" he whispered, hugging me back.

"Bad eight years"

"You look exhausted. Maybe you should go get some sleep" Dean said looking down at me.

"Thanks...I feel fine though"

"Dean's right Kayleigh, you were here late last night helping me and here early this morning and Matt told me you've been taking on some patrols shifts. And it's been like that with you since...Annapolis. You need to pace yourself or you're body's gonna wear out" Jack said, having finished with Brian.

"Fine" I said grumbling. Dean walked me back to my tent that was placed just outside the infirmary. There weren't many individual rooms in the buildings for people to have so we all just stayed in our own tents that were placed all over the base, mostly sticking close to our own units. Matt, Dean and Brian shared one while Dean had set one up for me right next to theirs.

"Will you stay with me" I asked.

"You're worried about nightmares" he said quietly as some people passed by. I could only nod as I gripped his hand tightly, looking down at my boots.

"After you" he said kissing my forehead and pushing back the tent flap. He closed the tent then laid back against my pack, using it like a pillow. I laid down next to him, putting my head against his chest and wrapping my arms around him. His finger tips glided softly up and down my arm as his other hand did the same in circles along my back, it calmed me down and I let my eyes close and my mind shut out everything that had clouded it today.

"Sweet dreams Catnip" Dean whispered and kissed the top of my head.

"If you keep calling me that i'll break your fingers" I whispered back, my eyes still closed.

"I love when you whisper sweet nothings to me"

"Shut up"

I soon fell asleep, still in his arms as he continued to run his finger tips softly over my skin. When I woke, he had fallen asleep as well, his fingers intwined in mine. I turned so I could see his face. He looked so peaceful and I wanted nothing more then for us to stay like this, but we both had responsibilities to get back to.

"Dean..." I whispered. I kissed his cheek then moved down to kiss his neck.

"Dean, wake up" I said in between kisses.

"Five more minutes..." he mumbled. I continued to kiss his neck,

"That's just gonna make me want to stay in here longer" he said sporting his signature charming smile.

"You know I want to..." I replied, taking his hands I pulled him so that he was forced to sit up. I pulled him right into me, putting his hands around me so that he was held my waist. Then moving my hands up his arms and back around his neck I kissed him on the lips.

"I_ really _want to" I said breaking the kiss then jumping right back in. I could feel his hands move down my legs as he tried to pull me in closer...which wasn't physically possible...The kiss became so intense that several times we had to pull away for air.

"So much for taking it slow" I said.

"Hey you started it this time" he replied smiling and then he started to kiss my neck, nuzzling me with his nose. I started to giggle and then I started to laugh uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry," I said, still laughing when he pulled away, "I'm ticklish"

"Really?" he said smiling mischievously.

"No...No! No please don't!" I squealed as he started to tickle me.

Dean gently pushed me to the floor and held my hands over my head with his as he continued to tickle my sides with the other.

"Okay! Okay! You win! _Please_ stop" I said, still giggling ferociously. He stopped but continued to keep me pinned as he leaned back in, his lips inches from mine as he hovered over me.

"I like your laugh" he said smiling, "you should do it more often"

"There's not much to laugh about these days..." I answered, the smile fading from my face. He slid his hands out of mine and helped me sit back up,

"Sorry. I just killed it, didn't I?" I said softly as I tucked in my knees, wrapped my arms around them and placed my chin on top. He just smiled and wrapped his arm around me,

"Of course not" he said kissing the top of my head,

"It's...it's Danny isn't it?" he asked, hesitating a little before saying his name.

"It's a little bit of everything" I replied having to pinch my arm to stop the tears, "Am I scaring you away with my problems yet?"

"You couldn't scare me away if you tried...Unless _you are _trying to..."

"Of course not...How could I turn away a face like that" I said jokingly pinching his cheek.

"That's adorable Kayleigh" he replied sarcastically.

"Come on, you need to get back for night patrol and I need to make sure Matt isn't getting into any trouble"

"All right, fine if spending time with me is so awful for you-" he said mockingly, reaching back behind him to grab his boots. I threw him an unamused look,

"All right, all right! Go find the kid" he said waving me off and starting to pull on his boots.

"Hey," I said taking his hand, "What if you come back tonight when you get off patrol?"

"If I come back I don't think i'll get much sleep" he said smirking again.

"That's the idea" I replied softly and kissed him goodbye before leaving the tent.

* * *

okay I have some news! I'm writing another Revolution Fan fic, I haven't decided if i'm gonna post or not. It's gonna be nine years after the blackout instead of fifteen, (so Miles is still General and what not) and since this one is about the rebels i'm making the new one as a militia POV and yes it's got romance in it too (We also see younger Jason!). And also someone asked for a Jarlie fan fic (You know who you are), and don't worry i'm working on that as well, i'm just trying to figure out how to start it...

Anyway if you're still reading this story thanks! :)


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER 21: Dean&Brian **

"Finley's a small town about twenty five miles away. With one cement factory...here" Miles said as he pointed to a small map of West Virginia.

"So we're just going on the word of Tom Neville...We have no idea what we're walking into?" Nicholas said, folding his arms as he skeptically looked over the map.

"Well, at least that's typical for us...Gotta hand it to you Jason, I had my doubts about getting the info from your father...but you came through"

"What if my dad was right...What if my mom's in danger?" Jason replied.

"She'll be okay" Miles said, he didn't look convincing though, "We'll send someone to get her out"

"Really?" Jason replied, "how are you going to do that?"

Miles didn't answer him, so Jason left in an angry strut with Charlie following right behind. Dean and Brian exchanged soulful looks, still not really sure what the mission was about; only that it would stop Monroe from hurting more people and that was enough of a reason for them.

"I'll hold down the fort. Try not to get yourselves shot" Nicholas said to us.

"We'll do our best" Nora replied with a smirk and then walked out of the armory with him.

"What did you tell Kayleigh you were doing?" Miles asked Dean after Nora left the room.

"I uh...told her I had night patrol. I don't like this..." Dean said to him, "Lying to her"

"Get over it" Miles replied harshly, grabbing a gun he left the armory to join Nora outside.

"I don't think he likes you" Brian said, laughing at him.

"You're like a brother to me Smith, so i'm not afraid to punch you in the face"

"She'll understand"

"How can you be so sure?"

"I'm not"

Miles, Nora, Charlie, Jason, Dean, Brian, and only a few other trusted rebels left right away to make their way to the cement factory in Finley, West Virginia.

They walked all through the night, it took them almost ten hours to make it. Stopping a few miles just outside the cement factory they rested up until they were ready to hit the factory. With the sun coming up they made their way over, staying behind trees they scoped out what they could. There were militia soldiers everywhere, but mostly surrounding a large garage like door that stood open on the side of the building. The small band of rebels made their way out of the woods and took cover behind a large slab of concrete that laid just beyond the tree line.

"Dammit" Hudson whispered, staring at the soldiers who were all armed with heavy fire power as two men made their way out of the factory. One was an older man, maybe in his fifties. His hair was balding and going grey. Dean noticed he was wearing a strange looking pendant around his neck, much like the one Kayleigh described Monroe having. She said that it had been used to turn power back on, it had been what made the helicopters fly before Danny took them down. He was being followed by a short, skinny man carrying a large silver brief case. The man was struggling with it as they walked towards an enormous tan hum-vee.

"That's Flynn" Charlie said pointing towards the man with the pendant.

"Who?" Miles said.

"Randall Flynn, the one my mom was telling you about"

"Who's the other guy?"

"I've never seen him before" she replied.

"Well, they're not getting in that car, we gotta take them" Miles said.

"I got it" Jason chimed in as he pulled an arrow from his quiver and strung it. But before he could take his shot, several bullets hit the concrete slab they were hiding behind.

"Fan out!" Miles yelled.

They did as he said, Brian and Dean made their way behind a rusty blue station wagon as more bullets started flying. The shots came from a fire escape on the side of the cement factory.

"REBELS!" One of the soldiers yelled from a top the roof.

Jason took his shot, taking out the man who fired first; his body falling over the side and on to the hum-vee. A soldier ushered Flynn and the other man into the vehicle as the rest took cover to fire back at them. Within seconds, two of our men took bullets and fell to the ground as blood gushed from their chests. Leaving only eight against over a dozen.

_If I manage to live through this...Kayleigh is going to kill me..._

Dean thought to himself as he took out two militia soldiers with his gun. Despite their numbers they took the militia soldiers out quickly, having better coverage against the openness by the factory. Miles came out from behind a truck, making sure the soldiers lying on the ground were indeed dead. After it was clear, Miles signaled the surviving rebels to come out. Dean, Brian and Nora made their way through the cement factory in search of anything left behind that might entail what they were doing there.

"In here" Brian yelled from down a long hall. Dean and Nora followed him into a large room, it's contents a messy mix of what looked like living quarters and some sort of lab. Papers strewn over a desk in the middle of the room; thick lines covered the paper creating an odd shape. Numbers were written all over it indicating dimensions.

"What the hell is that supposed to be?" Brian said, his fingers gliding over the paper.

"Oh my...I need to get Miles" Nora said and ran out of the room.

"What is all of this?" Charlie asked as they came in the room. Even Miles face had a hint of terror as he looked over the papers.

"This is...not good"

We gathered up what the skinny man and Flynn had left behind and brought it straight back to Rachel Matheson at base camp.

"So this brief case that Randall was carrying, how big was it?" Rachel asked after we showed her the papers. Miles gestured with his hands the relative size of the case,

"Some scrawny guy was carrying it" he replied, "it's what I think it is, isn't it?"

"My best guess was the guy was selling Randall a bomb"

"A _bomb_?!" repeated Brian from his seat on top of a table, Dean sitting right beside him.

"Like...Like nuclear?" Aaron asked.

"This is insane" said Jim Hudson, "we've got sticks and stones. These guys have nukes. How are we supposed to fight that?!"

"There's one thing we can do" Rachel said, mostly directing her attention back towards Aaron.

"Where's Nicholas?" Nora asked suddenly. Dean looked up, scanning the room he realized he wasn't here.

"Miles...Neville escaped last night" Aaron said.

"What?!" Miles yelled.

"He killed Nicholas when he did, i'm sorry...And there's something else..." Aaron said, looking nervously at Dean.

"_And_ what Aaron, spit it out" Miles yelled.

"It's Kayleigh...He-"

"Where is she!" Dean yelled jumping from the desk.

"Jack-"

Before Aaron could finish Dean sprinted out of the room and straight for the infirmary. When he got into the building, Matt was sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall outside one of the rooms Jack only used for more serious injuries. His knees were pulled in and his arms folded on top. He had his head relaxing atop his arms but Dean couldn't see his face.

"Matt" Dean said kneeling in front of him.

"Dean?" he looked up, wiping his nose on his sleeve. His cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes were red and puffy from crying.

"He hurt her...He hurt Kayleigh"

"Matt what happened"

* * *

okay I apologize that chapter is really short so i'll post two more tonight :)

Thanks for reading!


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER 22: Kayleigh **

*Last Night*

"It's getting late Matt"

"Please Kayleigh, just five more minutes"

"Ah let the kid stay" Mason said, "I'll make sure he makes it to his tent"

"Are you sure?" I said, glancing at Matt who was staring intensely at the playing cards in his hands.

"Yeah of course!"

"All right...Don't stay up too late!" I said and started to walk out of the mess hall. There hadn't been much to do in the infirmary so Jack let me and Matt off after dinner. I headed out of the training building and into the chilly night air. I pulled Dean's blue jacket around me tighter as I headed back towards my tent. I suddenly stopped in my tracks...Shouting was coming from the building where they were keeping Neville prisoner. I turned around and sprinted up the steep hill towards the building. Walking through a side door I quietly made my way towards where they were holding him. I pushed back the door to his 'cell' and saw the two rebels who had been guarding the door and Nicholas lying on the ground. Both of the rebels were dead, running over to Nicholas I saw he was too when I turned his body over and blood was still gushing from his neck. Before I could even react I felt a painful blow to the back of my head and fell forward, my face smacking into the hard concrete ground. I turned around to see who it was but met several fists to the face and body, then met the butt of a gun to the head before I could catch a glimpse...The last thing I saw was the ceiling before everything went dark...

I could hear voices but they were faint, like they were far away or the people were whispering between each other. I opened my eyes, I was in a small room lying on a bed. A sleeping boy was sitting forward in a chair beside me; his head resting near my hand with his own gripping it tightly. I tried to speak but my throat was dry and sore. I looked towards the metal door across from the bed, just standing outside I could see Jack and Miles.

"Jack..." I said, my voice coming out in a thick rasp. He turned to look at me, his face lighting up in a wide smile when he saw me awake. Miles pushed past him and came over to the other side, Matt still sound asleep and holding my hand.

"Are you okay?" Miles said, his hand caressing my cheek.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Neville escaped, killed Nicholas and four other rebels on the way out. You were lucky, he could have killed you but chose to beat the hell out of you instead" Miles replied.

I reached my hand up to feel stitches along my cheek. My face felt bruised and sore, as well as my chest and every other inch of my body.

"He stayed awake and by your side all night" Jack said, coming towards me, seeing my fingers twirl Matt's curls. Matt stirred in his sleep, he raised his head and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. He looked up and saw me smiling down at him,

"Kayleigh!" Matt yelled, throwing himself at me.

"Woah, careful kid. She's still in bad shape" Jack said, "Glad you're awake"

"Thank you Jack" I said as he started towards the door, he smiled back and then left the room. Matt refused to let go, his arms still wrapped tightly around me. I tried to smile through the pain as I hugged him back.

"All right you gotta loosen your grip a bit. You're squashing me..."

"Sorry..." he said sadly and moved to sit back in his seat.

"Oh, come here" I said, pulling his hand. He smiled and hopped back on the bed and laid down next to me, leaning his head back against the pillows. There was no surprise when he fell back asleep in seconds from his still exhausted state.

"You were right..." Miles said, suddenly speaking up, "We should have killed Neville when we had the chance. This is all my fault"

Things between me and Miles had been strained ever since we got Danny back. He had been avoiding me and at first I thought it was because of me...but I had found out I was Monroe's daughter. He knew I would bombard him with questions so his only option was to make sure we were never alone together...And here we were...Not technically since Matt was here, but he was asleep so I ignored the comment about Neville and asked what was on both our minds.

"Did you know I was his daughter"

"Yes"

"Why didn't you tell me" I said angrily, my voice still hoarse.

"I didn't think you needed to know"

"You didn't think I needed to know? You didn't think I should have known that the abusive alcoholic I spent fifteen years of my life with wasn't actually my father!" I said, trying to keep my voice low so I wouldn't disturb Matt, "How could you not say something! I deserved to know!"

"I'm sorry"

"Bullshit"

"Excuse me?"

" -S H I T" I repeated, "Don't act like you suddenly care about me. You have your family back now, you don't need me anymore, I get it"

"Is that what you think?"

"You only took me in because of my mother. You only let me stay with you for those five months because of my mother...The second you had an excuse you kicked me out with the rest of them. I'm just glad I had already planned on leaving with Dean. I was wasting my time with you pretending I could go on with a normal life"

"You wanna know what made me take you in? It wasn't just because of your mother. It was what she reminded me, when you mentioned Boston...That she told you to mention Boston"

"Yeah I know, so what?"

"You were born in Boston...Bass couldn't be there but I was. I was the first one to get to hold you. You were so small and you looked up at me with the most beautiful smile and you held onto my finger and wouldn't let go. And then your mother made me your godfather. I promised that if anything happened to her I would take care of you. You are my family Kayleigh. I took you in not because I felt some obligation towards your mother...but because I loved you as every bit as she did"

"Miles..." I didn't know what to say...and luckily I didn't have to say anything as Dean came bursting into the room. Miles moved out of the way and back towards the door as Dean came to my side.

"When they told me what happened with Neville and they said something had happened to you...I thought..." Dean said softly as I watched Miles leave the room.

I turned to look at Dean when I could no longer see Miles...There were tears in his eyes. He put a hand to my cheek, stroking his thumb back and forth gently over my bruised skin...

"I thought i'd lost you"

I put my hand over his, taking it away from my cheek I held it tightly as I smiled up at him.

"I'm just glad Matt's okay. He could have been with me when it happened"

Dean leaned in and kissed my forehead, letting his lips linger there before pulling away and leaning his forehead against mine. His eyes were closed and we just sat there for a while together. I moved my hands to his arms, holding him to let him know I was going to be okay, that we would be okay. We had gone through worse. Even though Neville escaped, I couldn't help but feel happy...

Was I wrong too? Good men had died because of Neville and they weren't the first blood on his hands. That included Danny. I blamed Neville along with Monroe for his death, I should be angry that he escaped. That I never got a chance for justice against him...But I wasn't, at least not now. I was happy because me, Matt and Dean were still okay. We were still alive and that's all I care about...Is them...I don't know what I would do without either of them...

"Kayleigh there's something I need to tell you..." Dean said suddenly, letting go of my hand and pulling away. He got up from the bed and shut the door to the small room, moving back to me he looked to Matt...

"He's asleep right?" he asked looking at him nervously. Before I could speak, he got his answer from a loud snore.

"Before I start I just want to say I never wanted to lie to you...I had to...Miles asked me to, and now that he's my superior officer I had too..."

"All right" I said already shifting nervously.

"I wasn't at night patrol last night. Miles put together a small mission. The intel we got from Neville after Miles worked him over yesterday well and Jason too, it was something to do with a cement factory in Finley. We were spotted too early by militia when we got there. A man named Randall Flynn was there buying something from a scientist. This man, Flynn, he works for Monroe. He use to work with Rachel Matheson, he had one of those pendant things? You know that turns on the power...Anyway, the scientist...He sold him a nuke..."

"A nuke?"

"Yeah, you know like a bomb"

"I know what a nuke is Dean. Do you know where he took it?"

"No, we can only guess back to Monroe though"

I looked down at Matt, I stroked his hair not wanting to think what damage Monroe would do with a nuclear weapon...

"Rachel and that Aaron guy, they're heading out of the Monroe Republic...Rachel thinks that if she can turn the power back on we can stop Monroe before he does any serious damage"

"Turn the power back on?" I repeated whipping my head back around to look at Dean, "Is that even possible?"

"She says it is. That it has something to do with a place called The Tower over in Colorado...But i'm sure Monroe knows about that by now if that Randal guy is working for him"

"Uh, my head hurts" I said leaning back as I tried to process everything Dean was telling me.

"Sorry I didn't mean to bombard you with all this, I just thought you should know. You of all people should be kept in the loop about this stuff"

"Why because Monroe's my father"

"No because if Miles can trust anyone it would be you...I'm sorry I lied to you"

"I don't even care about that. I just don't want to see anyone else get hurt because Monroe is on some power hungry trip. It was strange you know, I had always seen him as some psychopathic crazy murderer dude but when I was in Philly...I saw a different side to him...He opened up to me, tried to be a father. He gave me this beautiful antique piano, he said it was because he knew if I was my mother's child I could appreciate it...At that moment I realized he had loved her and I couldn't understand how a man who must have been normal once, compassionate at some point could become the way he is now...And I would think about the way things could have been if he had stayed. If he had been a father to me...And it made me happy to think that he was trying, but I hated that I felt that way...That I actually wanted him to mean something to me. How could I want that?"

"_'_Crazy murderer dude'?" Dean repeated.

"Seriously? All you took out of _all of that _was my word choice?"

"I'm sorry, I just don't know what you want me to say. We're talking about a man who's been responsible for hundreds of people's suffering. But a man who also gave you life...So technically speaking, if it hadn't been for him I'd probably be dead"

"But if it hadn't been for him you probably would never have ended up in that service station in the first place" I argued.

"Which side are you on exactly?"

"I don't know" I said leaning forward and putting my face into his chest and shutting my eyes tightly.

"The way I see it, we can go on for weeks and argue about whose fault it is for every little bad thing that's happened to us. I've always blamed Monroe and his militia for what happened to my family...And as much as they deserve that blame I realize I can't spend the rest of my life in a fit of revenge for what they did to me. It'll tear me a part if that's what i'm fighting in this rebellion for and it'll do the same to you if you keep going over whether or not Monroe could still be that compassionate guy, no matter what we've seen him do. So I no longer fight for what could have been if my family hadn't been killed. I fight for what could be...I fight for you and Matt. What you need to decide is if you can ever forgive a man like Monroe for what he's done because of who he use to be or because of the man he could still be..."

I thought over what Dean said...Letting him hold me as we sat quietly, listening to Matt's extremely loud snoring...

"When did you get to be so phlegmatic?" I asked Dean, pulling my head away from his chest so I could look up at him.

"It's all apart of my charm" he said with a smirk, "Since when do you use words like _phlegmatic?_. I don't even think I know what that means"

"I read it in a dictionary"

He raised his eyebrows at me, I couldn't tell if he was put off by it or amused.

"You are a mystery to me sometimes, Kayleigh Marie Evans. But an extremely attractive mystery"

I rolled my eyes at him and playfully pushed him back on the bed.

"That hurt you know"

"Don't be such a ba-"

Before I could continue he quickly pushed himself back up and grabbing my shoulders he pulled me in for a kiss. I could feel myself relax as I moved my arms around his neck, my fingers running through his hair. His hands moved slowly down my arms and to my waist as he pulled me in closer. His lips took one last lingering second upon mine before I felt them move and swiftly peck my cheek.

"I love you Kayleigh Marie" he whispered, moving his lips across my cheek and down my neck. A smile spread across my face and released a happy sigh as his lips danced across my skin.

"Okay that's enough" I said softly as his lips had started to go farther down my neck...

"Not with Matt here..." I added sternly.

"He's asleep" Dean argued back.

"Dean" I said, putting a finger to his lips when he tried leaning back in to which he gave an angry grunt then put his head against my shoulder.

"You're just a giant child you know that?" I told him as he continued sighing in irritation. He looked up at me but kept is head on my shoulder,

"A very handsome and charming, giant child though, right?"

"Shut up" I said laughing and pushing him away again. He just sat there, smirking in satisfaction at me...

"It's getting late and I have patrol soon"

"Is it actually patrol this time or another one of Mile's missions?"

"It's actually patrol, i'd tell you if it wasn't...do you want me to send someone or..."

"It's okay, he can stay with me" I answered looking down at Matt.

"Feel better all right?" he said getting up.

"I'll do my best" I replied and he kissed me goodbye.

"Good night, Catnip" he said as he opened the door to leave.

"Good night, Winchester"


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER 23: Kayleigh **

"You should be taking it easy...I heard you took quite the beating from Neville before he escaped"

I looked over at Brian as I strung my bow with an arrow and took aim.

"I'm fine" I said without taking my eyes from the tiny piece of cloth pinned to a tree about a hundred yards away.

"There's no way you're gonna hit that" Mason said.

"I think you just made her more angry" Colin said to Mason as I took several more steps back. I put the piece of cloth in my sight again, lifting up my strung bow I took a deep breath. I pulled the bowstring all the way back against my cheek, then released the arrow. I turned to look at Mason, a look of pure satisfaction sweeping across my face.

"I don't think your jaw could drop any lower than that Lt. Anderson" I said strutting proudly over to him, Colin and and Colin stifled laughs as Mason sent them both a vicious glare. Mason reached into his pocket and handed me the last chocolate bar in all of Virginia.

"Thank you" I said smugly whipping the chocolate from his hand.

"Don't tell me you let her get one over on you Mason" Dean said, jogging up to us from the training building.

"I know better now, no thanks to these two" he said jabbing his thumb in Colin and Brian's direction.

"No way I was going to tell you that girl could hit _that _with her eyes closed if she wanted. It's just too entertaining on our part" Brian replied.

"Medic! WE NEED A MEDIC OVER HERE!" Miles suddenly yelled, running out of the training building and straight for a man who was riding into camp. I saw blood, pouring from his chest and head and sprinted over to him. Miles had stopped the horse and pulled the man from it. Dean took the horses reins and led it away as I examined the man. He was coughing up blood and was only able to stick a bloody, folded piece of paper in Miles' hand before he died on the ground.

I looked at the man's face...He was about the same age as Miles. His eyes were dark and lifeless as I gently dragged my hand over them to shut his eye lids. I turned to look up at Miles face and I didn't like what I saw. He was reading the note and the expression across his face showed he was terrified by what was on it...And I had never seen him look that way before...

"Miles what is it?" I asked.

"Where's Nora?" he asked without looking up from the note.

"I don't-"

He turned, running back up towards the training building. Brian, Mason and Colin had brought over a stretcher and a tarp to cover the man's body.

"Go," Brian said to me, "We'll take care of him"

I ran after Miles and got to him just as he found Nora with Charlie in the armory...

"Four of our spies died getting that here" Miles was saying to her as I came in. Miles handed her the note and she opened it quickly and skimmed over the blood drenched words.

"Miles...What do we do?" Nora asked, frantically looking up when she finished reading.

"What is it?" Charlie asked, looking just as confused as I was.

"Monroe sent the nuke to Atlanta. A three man strike team smuggled it across the border in Clarksville"

"When?" I asked.

"A day ago, maybe two"

"Do you think Monroe is crazy enough to use it" asked Nora.

"If Georgia doesn't surrender? Yeah I do" he replied, "If we find it do you think you could disarm it?"

"I don't know" she replied, she saw the look of desperation on his face, "I'll give it a shot"

"Your confidence is overwhelming" he called after her as she started to leave the armory.

"You're in too" he said nodding to Charlie, "Your mom told me to take care of you, so I figured i'd drag you in front of a nuclear weapon...Pack your crap we're going to Georgia"

Miles left the armory quickly and I followed, having to run to catch up with him.

"So you're really going to go to the place where Monroe has sent a nuclear weapon?" I said as I walked beside him.

"I don't have a choice we need to stop it from going off"

"And what makes you think you can find it? What if you can't and it goes off with you, Nora and Charlie still in the city"

"We'll find it in time" he replied, "Since when are you so worried about me"

"Since always"

He stopped walking and looked down at me,

"Do you want to come?" he asked.

"What?"

"You can come. I'm not so sure lover boy will be pleased but you can come with us if you want"

"No...No thanks, i'm better off staying here helping Jack then off with you on your insane task of stopping a nuclear bomb"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah...Just promise you'll get them and yourself out if Nora can't disarm it"

"I can't make any promises but i'll do my best"

"I'm sorry about before, I shouldn't have doubted you"

"Just take care of yourself while i'm gone"

"I'll be fine"

I watched him walk away as he went to prepare to leave...I turned around and headed back to find Brian and make sure we were going to give the rebel who died the burial he deserved.

A few days had passed since Miles, Charlie and Nora had left for Georgia. I could barely concentrate on anything since they had left...I was in a constant worry that they wouldn't find the bomb in time and they would be right in it's path...along with the hundreds of people that occupied Atlanta...

Everything was counting on Miles to stop that bomb. If Monroe succeeded it would mean he would be one step closer to obtaining full power of the United States. Since Miles had left, Dean was put back in charge of our now dwindling unit. Ever since we had arrived here rebel units came in and out with reports for Dean and they would only stay a few days before moving back out. Leaving just our small fleet of about twenty rebels. A number which had diminished drastically over the past two months from it's previous fifty. Because they're was not much to do, whenever units passed through we spent most of time in training, keeping ourselves busy as we waited for something to come along. Dean had to deal with everything now that it was just him, even with Brian at his side to help he was constantly busy and I barely saw him. The infirmary with Jack was slow...since we weren't taking on any missions the only thing for me and Jack to do was clean scrapes acquired from training...and there was one bad case of poison ivy. That night I went up to Ally as she was passing out dinner to everyone,

"Have you seen Dean?" I asked her.

"He's in the armory, he's been cooped up all day with maps and letters from units all over the place, as usual. I was going to bring him this, but maybe you should? It'll be good for him to take a break for a while" she said, handing the food to me.

"Thank you, Ally" I replied with a smile, taking the bread and tin cup of beans from her I headed up to the training building. I slowly peeked in the armory, and saw Dean with his head in his hands, maps and papers strewn in front of him. I lightly knocked on the door, when he looked up and saw me a welcoming smile spread across his face.

"Ally asked me to bring you this" I said coming over to him, "You look like crap"

"Thanks, I appreciate it...The food I mean" he said taking it from me, but placed it on the table in front of him instead of eating it.

"Aren't you hungry?" I asked.

"Can't I say hello first?"

He put his arms around my waist, pulling me down into his lap he kissed me hello. He pulled his lips away and put his forehead to mine, closing his eyes he let out a heavy sigh.

"You need to take a break. It won't hurt anyone if you do" I said softly, gently running my finger tips up and down his arm.

"Hmmm hm" was all he got out as he continued to hold me.

"Sorry to interrupt the love fest" Brian's voice said from near the door, "But we've received important intel from our spy in Georgia"

Both mine and Dean's head's whipped up when we heard him say 'Georgia'.

"What is it?" Dean asked.

"Apparently they're evacuating the citizens of Atlanta"

"Miles must have found where Monroe's men stashed the bomb and warned them" I said looking up at Dean.

"Let's just hope Nora can disarm it in time" Brian added.

"All right, thanks Brian"

"No problem Captain" he said saluting Dean with two fingers before leaving.

"Do you want any help?" I asked Dean, looking down at the mess papers and maps.

"No I don't want to trouble you with this"

"It's no trouble"

"All right, you asked..." he said. He ate quickly then when he finished we both went through the intel from the rebels units, placing marks on the maps of where militia soldiers were settled down and how many were in each unit. It was easy, but tedious as there was multiple intel talking about the same militia units but giving different counts of the number of soldiers. Then there was the intel that he had to reply to, and give orders to the units of where to go next after hitting a militia unit and correspond with the marked maps so that they didn't collide with other militia units. By the time we got maybe, almost half way through it was already past midnight.

"I never realized how big this rebellion is" I said to him as we sat back on a cot that he had brought in to sleep on when he worked late, like tonight.

"Yes, but we are a very disorganized group" he replied, "There are rebels out there that work outside of the units, on their own...So we can't really be sure how big we actually are..."

Dean leaned his head back up against the wall, rubbing his forehead. It wasn't hard to see how tired and stressed he had become so I got up and shut the door to the armory.

"What are you doing?" he asked sitting up.

"You need to take a break from all this. Miles never pushed himself this hard in the work and neither should you" I replied coming back over to him. I sat on the cot, then laid down on my side. Smiling up at him I patted the empty spot on the cot beside me,

"Don't make me force you..."

He smiled down at me then slowly laid back, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me in close. I curled up next to him, placing my head on his chest I closed my eyes. He kissed the top of my head and stroked my arm gently. I slowly started to drift off, feeling the wave of exhaustion flowing over me as I laid there with him.

"Goodnight Catnip"

The next day came so suddenly I felt like I had only slept for a few minutes before Brian came bursting into the armory to wake us up.

"Okay we get it, you two are in love or whatever...So how about you get your asses out of bed so we all can get on with the day" he said seeing us lying on the cot together.

"Well someone's grumpy" I whispered to Dean, sitting up and stretching.

"Did Jo turn you down again Smith?" Dean asked mockingly.

"Oh ha ha...And no she didn't. I've still got a whole day left for that. But it would be nice if you two didn't make the armory your permanent residence since you know...people come in here"

"Did you need something Brian?"

"Here, read it yourself" he replied, handing him a piece of paper and leaving the room.

"It's from Miles...They stopped the bomb" Dean said quickly skimming the piece of paper.


	24. Chapter 24

**CHAPTER 24: Dean**

Everyone was in a good mood since receiving the news about Monroe's lasted defeated attempt with taking out the Georgia Federation that I let everyone cut loose for once, to just be normal people again. Ally, Jo and some of the other rebels cooked up a big meal...Or as big of one that we could and we all sat around together to eat and drink. As I moved around the mess hall, I watched as people laughed together. I hadn't seen them like this in a long time and it was nice to not be off fighting or on constant alert...Or at least not all of us...After only several minutes of being with them, making sure they were having a good time and enjoying themselves I headed back to the armory to work. I saw Kayleigh sitting atop one of the tables with Matt, Brian and Jo as I started to leave. They were laughing at some story Brian was telling, his hands exaggerating something that had them holding their stomachs in pain from the enormous bursts of laughter. She caught my eye, when she saw me heading out the mess hall, her smile faded and she threw me a worried glance. I smiled back and nodded to her that I was okay. She smiled again, it was the last thing I saw when I turned the corner out of the room. I headed to the armory, sitting in a chair at the small table I started to write reports to Ramsey about what happened in Georgia. He was somewhere in New England with Henry Taggert and his 2nd Mass unit. I must have been in there for a while, my head started to ache and my body was sore from sitting in the extremely uncomfortable metal folding chair. There was two knocks coming from near the door, when I looked up Kayleigh was standing there, a frown on her face.

"You know...All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" she said coming into the room and taking a seat next to me, resting her chin on her fist.

"_The Shining_" I replied, recognizing the quote, "I pegged you more of a_ 'The Last Stand'_ type, you know a little more relatable with the apocalyptic world and what not"

"That one's good too, but _The Shining_ was always my favorite"

"That one creeped me out" I said leaning back in the chair.

"Really?" she said laughing.

"Yeah, you know guy goes psycho and tries to kill his wife and kid and the kid with the imaginary friend"

"What, you never had an imaginary friend as a child?"

"No...did you?"

"No"

"Exactly"

"I think the clown one was creepier"

"Now that one I liked"

"It's about a clown who _eats children_" she said looking at me like I was crazy, "My brothers use to put paint on their faces and scare me when my mom first read me that one"

"Your brothers sound lovely"

"They joked around a lot when we were little, especially Josh. But they always looked out for me, they stopped when it started giving me nightmares, then they would both stay up all night until I fell asleep" she said and laughed slightly, "They would have pots and pans by their side and tell me it was just in case any monsters tried to get me. And it wasn't to try and scare me again, they did it to remind me they would always be there to protect me. It worked, I'd fall asleep with in seconds"

She nervously rubbed her arms and leaned back, pulling her legs up and crossing them.

"Sorry" she said, "I didn't mean to dive so deep"

"No it's okay" I told her, "I liked that story"

She pulled her leg in, now resting her chin up on her knee she watched me silently as I continued to write to the different units with updates.

"You can go back if you want, i'll be okay" I told her without looking up.

"It was getting too rowdy for me" she replied.

"You let Matt stay?" I asked, raising my eye brows in surprise.

"No of course not!" she scoffed, "He and Jack went back to the tents. Jack wasn't feeling well and said he'd walk back with him"

"That's good...You need a break from playing mother"

"What do you mean"

"I mean i'm not the only one working too much these days. You're so wrapped up between work with Jack and making sure Matt is staying out of trouble that you don't give yourself a break"

"I guess..."

"Come here" I said, putting down my pencil and reaching a hand out to her. She took it reluctantly and I pulled her over to me,

"I think we could both use some more regularly scheduled downtime"

I stood up, swiftly throwing my arms around her and lifting her off the ground. Her arms moved around my neck as I carried her over to the cot and placed her down gently. Moving over her I leaned in and kissed her, softly at first then as I felt her relax I became more assertive and opened my mouth wider. I could feel her hands move from my neck to my arms as they gripped my shirt tightly. She pulled me down so that our bodies were as close as they could possibly get. Her hands moved up and under my shirt so that they ran over my skin.

"Are you sure?" I asked, pulling away and sitting up when I realized what she wanted. She moved to sit up as well, without saying anything she grabbed the hem of her own shirt and lifted it over her head and threw it to the ground.

"I'll take that as a yes"

I ripped mine off and threw myself at her, knocking her back onto the cot and kissing her fiercely. Our hands moved all over each other, exploring the other's body as we pressed them together once more. I kissed her neck, my lips moving over her skin slowly. Her fingers dug into my back as I moved my lips farther down her neck...and then even farther...I was kissing her stomach when she pushed herself up and me with her. She straddled herself over me, my hands moved to her waist as we stared at each other for a moment. Her hands moved back up my chest, then to my cheeks and she was about to kiss me when the last thing we wanted came bursting into the room...

"Jesus! Why do I always have the worst timing with you two?!" Brian yelled when he saw us, "If you're going to keep messing around in here you should really start putting a sock on the door handle or something!"

Kayleigh moved behind me to hide herself from Brian as he reached down and threw our shirts at us.

"What is it Smith" I said in the most irritated voice I could give, as I pulled my shirt back over my head.

"It's another letter from Miles" he said handing it to me, "You're gonna want to read it"

He waved awkwardly goodbye then left the room, closing the door behind him. I opened it, pushing up the already broken seal and started to read.

"What does it say?" Kayleigh asked softly.

"It's from Miles, he met with President Foster...They're going to fight with us"

"Where are we going exactly?" Ally asked as we all sat around the tables in the mess hall. I was standing at the head of one of the tables, everyone's eyes were on me as I explained our current relations with the Georgians.

"Just outside Evansville"

"Evansville? Ain't Militia occupying that city" Asked Rudy, one of the more older rebels who had a taste for militia blood...

"Yes, that's the point. When President Foster attacks with her soldiers from the Indiana border, we're going to attack from the inside"

"So we're just butting up with those peach eating snobs?" someone else chimed, but I didn't see who asked.

"Yes we are. Unless you want to surrender to Monroe? We have a chance to hit back harder then we've ever had before. We can finally do some real damage and actually win a fight if we team up with them" I said, looking at everyone when I spoke.

"The enemy of our enemy is our friend right?" Brian spoke up from beside me.

"Miles sent word across the republic, trying to reach the other units. But there's no way of telling if they received the message. They're going to need all the help they can get and we have to move out as soon as possible if we're going to make it over to Indiana. So pack all the weapons and supplies into the wagon, we leave in two hours"

Everyone started to disperse quickly as I pushed my way through to Kayleigh.

"Look, last night...I'm sorry we never..." I said feeling slightly awkward about the whole thing as I tried to find the right words.

"Well Captain, we have two hours" she replied smiling up at me.

"Hey Kayleigh, can you help me pack and load the medical supplies?" Jack asked running up to us.

"Yeah...sure" she replied.

"Thanks" he said and bolted quickly from the room with the rest of the crowd.

"Sorry, so much for that" she said, looking up at me with a disappointed expression.

"Rain check"

She stood up on her tip toes and kissed me,

"I'll see you later then" she smiled when she pulled away. I watched her disappear out the door then got to work myself. Helping with the weapons as we stock piled what little we had into the back of the wagon. We threw them into the compartment box near the front, hoping that would hide them well enough that if we did run into militia the soldiers wouldn't give us a second glance. Kayleigh, Matt and Jack came soon after, with only a few boxes of supplies which we pushed back against the wooden compartment.

"That's all?" I asked, walking over to Jack.

"Let's hope those _'peach eating snobs'_ are better equipped" he replied.

I lifted Matt into the back of the wagon, he sat down and let his feet hang off the back.

"Ready kid?" I asked, ruffling his curly hair.

"Do I get to fight this time?" he asked.

"You're too young Matt, you know that. And I hope when you're old enough you won't ever have to" I replied. Ally came over and plopped up next to him,

"Don't worry kid, I can't either"

"That's right. And if it had been up to me you wouldn't even be involved in all of this" Mason said, throwing a bag into the back of the wagon.

"That's okay, I don't want to be a fighter anyway...I don't like blood" she said making a disgusted face to Matt.

"But the blood's the best part" Brian said coming over and throwing his pack into the back, "When it comes shooting out like a sprinkler and gushes everywhere"

"You seriously have a problem" Jo said coming up from behind and smacking him hard on the head.

"Jeez, I was kidding sparky" he replied, rubbing his head.

"Sparky?" Matt asked curiously.

"Please don't tell this story" she said, glaring at Brian.

"When she first joined the rebels, she-"

Jo threw her hand over his mouth,

"I swear to god Smith if you say anything else i'll chop _it _off"

"_It?" _

"Yes...it" she said looking down, then viciously smiled up at him. After that he was silent..._for the rest of the day._

We had headed out, making our way to Indiana and to Miles. We took the unused roads as much as we could, hoping that we wouldn't run into any militia units. The two weeks on the road were grueling and exhausting as we made our way as quickly as we could through the republic. Our small band of rebels finally made it near the city, I sent several rebels out to look for any sign of Miles and the others. They were gone for two days before coming back with a report that the Georgians, Miles and another rebel unit had already taken over the militia fort in Marion. So we changed direction and headed south, they lead us to the over run militia fort which was now sporting a Georgian flag. It was just a small factory, large piles of rubble surrounded it's outside. Tents covered the rubble free ground just in front of the factory, a mix of both Georgia soldiers and even rebels were walking around picking weapons up from the dead bodies that were lying everywhere.

"Commander Winchester" a Georgian soldier said coming up to me.

"It's actually Captain now" I replied.

"Oh..."

"It was by choice" I said, referring to the change in ranks after seeing his confused and almost awkward expression.

"General Matheson, would like to see you after you've gotten your regiment settled, Sir"

"Right thanks" I said, as he started to walk away.

"General?" Brian said, his eyes darting around the camp.

"I guess so"

I turned to look at my small band of rebels, they were looking to me for orders...

"Just...Get settled in" I said to them, then made my way through camp to find Miles. I had Brian come with me, he was my right hand man, I included him in everything and let Mason and Colin direct everyone while we went to see Miles. We were directed to one of the tents, going inside we found Miles sitting beside Jim Hudson, both of them were swigging back glasses of whiskey.

"I'll leave you to it then" Jim said taking a last gulp of whiskey, then left the tent in a hurry.

"Sit" Miles said waving his hand at us and pouring himself another drink, "We're hitting Evansville tomorrow. If we can take it we'll have control of the important part of Indiana...not that that says much...I need your unit to hit it from the north. We have a supply of weapons for you and plenty of ammo"

"Is that all" I asked.

"Yep" Miles replied, gulping down his whiskey and pouring yet another glass.

Me and Brian got up to go,

"Actually there is one more thing...We aren't taking survivors" he said.

"I understand"

Me and Brian headed back to the edge of camp where 'my unit' was setting up. I had never thought of them as mine before, i've fought along side most of them for years. They were more than my soldiers, more than just my unit. They were my brothers and sisters, they were my family...And as corny as that is, it's true.

"What am I supposed to do?" Jack said coming up to me and Brian.

"Um...What ever it is that you usually do?" Brian replied, as we exchanged confused glances.

"Well, they pretty much just laughed me and Kayleigh out of the medical tent. Like we're some third rate-"

"Whoa, hold on" I said waving my hands up in defense.

"Uh, you can handle this right? Great!" Brian said patting me hard on the back and taking off. Jack was staring at me, waiting for me to make everything better.

"Maybe you should just play fighter for a while"

"Fine whatever...What about Kayleigh" he said giving up rather easily.

"I'll talk to her. As much as I hate it, she probably wants to finally see some action and with the mission tomorrow we're going to need all hands on deck"

"Mission?"

"Later...Where is she?"

"Well, after giving those Georgian doctors a piece of her mind, which you should have seen it was very entertaining, she stormed off. I don't know where"

I smiled at the thought of her sticking her ground and blowing up at people who were probably twice her age, size and to be honest experience.

"All right, i'll see you later"

I walked around to look for her, Jo pointed me in the direction of her tent. I walked in and found her lying, sulking on her sleeping bag with her arm over her face.

"Hey" I said coming to sit next to her. She lifted her arm slightly,

"Hey"

"Jack...Well, Jack sort of told me what happened"

"Those pompous, two faced know it alls can kiss my-"

"Okay! Okay, calm down" I stopped her, slightly laughing as her face was still a deep red from anger.

I grabbed her hands and pulled her up. She crossed her legs and held my hands tightly,

"Sorry..."

"It's okay, but you probably shouldn't go crazy on them again...or call them two faced or pompous to their faces"

"I don't like them"

"Yeah, I think I got that bit, but you're going to have to cooperate with them"

"I know, I know!" she said waving me off and falling back onto her sleeping bag again. I laid down next to her and took her hand,

"I thought you would be happy to get the chance to fight"

"I am...I feel bad for Jack though. He's still torn up about Annapolis and it doesn't help that they pretty much shut him down and after everything he's done for the rebels he doesn't deserve it"

"He'll be fine, he was a fighter before our actual doctors were killed"

"I didn't know that..."

I started thinking about what would happen if Kayleigh became a fighter. She's tough, that wasn't hard to see. And she has amazing skills when it came to sticking a bow and arrow in her hands...But she's no warrior. She's not a soldier and she was no fan of holding a gun. I thought about Danny, what had happened to him. I remember how it drove her to want to fight even more, she spent days on patrol hoping to see some action. I know I couldn't bare it if anything happened to her. After everything I've lost, I can't lose her too. She's the best thing in my life...She's the best thing about me.

"What's wrong?" she asked, leaning over me and putting her hand on my chest.

"Nothing" I replied, trying to smile.

"I don't believe that for a second. I know you too well" she said, still looking concerned.

"I don't want you to fight"

I said it so suddenly, I knew she would be furious but the look I got from her was more a mix of disdain and confusion...

"What?"

"I don't want you out there fighting. I want you to stay at camp and take care of Matt"

"No, I'm fighting"

"No you're not" I replied, pushing myself up.

"You can't make me stay behind and expect to just do nothing again"

"I'm your superior officer-"

"Please, don't pull that crap on me. This has nothing to do with some military strategy or whatever"

"How do you know"

"Do you remember what you told me? It was months ago, back at The Grand in Chicago. The day you asked me to come to Annapolis with you. You said I looked like a fighter, you knew how much I hated the militia, hated Monroe. You asked me to come with you because you knew I wouldn't turn you down. That the temptation of being able to get back at Monroe was too big for me to pass up. You're the one who told me I should do this. I may have had thoughts running through my mind about leaving, about _doing something_ long before you asked, but having you ask me was like a sign. It's part of what convinced me to go with you"

"I don't want to see you get killed"

She scoffed a laugh, glaring at me like I had said something absolutely ridiculous, something horrible that she had to try and contain the anger that was building in her.

"I can't believe you" she said shaking her head, "So what? Before when you asked me to run away with you and become a rebel I was just some dumb, gullible little girl, just another recruit you pull in with your charm with what seemed like honorable reasons. Someone to shove a gun in their hands and give a push towards the front line"

"You're being ridiculous" I told her and started to get up to leave.

"Me? I'm the one being ridiculous?" she yelled back and grabbed my arm to stop me,

"Matt told me about how he met you. That you ran into him and Rob while they were on their way to the Georgia Federation border back in Ohio. That was just after you left me, am I right?"

I didn't answer her, realizing where she was going with this story...

"So how long did it take you to convince Rob to sign up for the rebellion?! I wonder how long it took for your smile or your story about your brother to work them over!"

It made me angry to hear her accuse me of not caring...of acting like I thought of people as objects to stick in front of militia guns to block the bullets...and I would have been fine, but she mentioned my brother like I had used what happened to me as a way to get people to join. To show them I knew what they were going through...to exploit my own brothers death and I just lost it...I grabbed both of her arms tightly...Tighter then I should have. She struggled slightly but then stopped, looking me right in the eyes. I could tell it was hurting her as tears were starting to fall. I quickly let go and pushed myself away, as far as I could get and covering my face with my hands. This wasn't the first time I had grabbed her like that...And I had promised myself I would never do it again. What if I couldn't hold my anger in around her and the next time my hand met her face instead?

"I was out of line, I didn't mean it. It came out so suddenly, I wasn't thinking. I was just so angry...i'm sorry"

She was apologizing to me, she was acting like it was her fault that I had hurt her. I could see her through the cracks in my fingers as she rubbed her arms. I could even make out the spot where my hands had been because there were bright red marks.

"I'm sorr-"

"No" I said firmly, now sitting up so that I looked across at her, "I am...I'm sorry...I didn't mean..."

"Dean" she said moving to me again and putting her hands on my cheeks, "It's already forgotten"

She smiled up at me...It was so genuine, I could always tell with her. But how could she do that? How could she just shake it off so easily?

Then I remembered the father she grew up with, how she said he was a drunk...and abusive...How she's always saying she's had worse whenever she gets injured...

"But I can't" I replied.

"You have to"

With her hands still caressing my cheeks she leaned in and kissed me. But my lips stayed frozen, I couldn't bring myself to let it go. I kept replaying it over and over again in my head as I sat there and looked at her. All I could see was the light bruising already starting to form on her arms.

"Dean please" she said pulling away when I didn't kiss back,

"Please, I don't want to fight. I'll stay with Matt if that'll make you feel better"

She was trying to fix it, after what I had done and trying to make up for what she had said as well. I continued to sit there, staring blankly at her face.

"I love you" I said after sitting in silence for too long, I looked away from her face even as I said it.

"I know" she replied, still smiling up at me. She scooted herself over so that she was right beside me, her body facing mine so that she could look at me. Trying to get me to look back at her she put her hand on my upright knee and squeezed it. Then she wrapped her arms around it when I didn't react. Hugging my knee she leaned her head against it not breaking her gaze. I looked down at her, when I did her smile grew bigger. But it suddenly faded, she took my hand then broke her gaze. I could see the hesitation as her lips quivered, her eyes darting down and away from mine and when she spoke her voice was soft and quiet...

"I was only sixteen when I got the scars on my back. I had barely been on my own since running from militia after they came to my village for me and killed my brothers. I now realize they were looking for me because...well you know...I was somewhere in Ohio and that's all I knew. I was lost, alone, hungry...no _starving_. I had never felt something as excoriating as the feeling of being hungry. Game was scarce, I was lucky if my weak arms were able to pull back my bow string to hit even a squirrel or rabbit. I made the mistake of taking refuge in a small abandoned neighborhood. It reminded me of the house I grew up in and I was exhausted. But it was the worst mistake of my life. I fell asleep atop a small lounge chair that was in one of the rooms. I woke up suddenly when two men pulled me from the room and dragged me outside. There was a group of them waiting, maybe ten or fifteen bandits, I was too scared to bother with myself with the exact number. They were all mostly older men, except for two, I remember because they were really young, about the same age as me and they were hesitant when it was...their turn..."

"Did...Did they..." I stuttered, not able to get the word out.

"No, they didn't rape me or anything like that...I asked why, because that's what I had expected when they first grabbed me. They said that they already had women for that...Women they kept locked up in the basements of the house. They said I was trespassing and I needed to be taught a lesson. They each took a turn taking a whip to my back...Those are the thinner, longer scars. The thick, jagged ones were...were made from a hunting knife..."

She paused, trying to gather herself and go on with the story...

"When they were finished they tied me up and left me in one of the rooms. The eldest man, he must have been their leader or something. I remember his voice sounded rough and raspy, he scared me most of all. I remember the words he whispered in my ear, he told me _'you be a good girl or I won't hold them back next time'. _I remember not crying. That's what surprised me most. That as scared as I felt, as hopeless as I felt and as painful as it was I didn't cry...And I realized lying in that room, that it was because I already felt empty inside, that I wanted to die because it was the only way I could see my mother again, see Josh and Zach. That it was the only way to get away from the pain I had already been feeling...I wanted to give up...And I would have if it hadn't been for the boy...One of the younger bandits I had seen before, the one who hesitated when he hit me. He came into the room where they were keeping me and cut me loose. He carried me out the window and into the woods. He carried me for what felt like hours...Then, when he thought we were a safe distance he carried me into a small town...I learned later that he had carried me all the way out of Ohio and into Michigan. I had been so hungry, so disoriented from blood loss I had lost sense of time. I woke up on a mattress in a tiny room, a women was by my side tending the wounds on my back. She told me that the boy had brought me there five days before...She said that he had made her promise to keep me a secret, so they had stowed me away in the attic. She said the men had showed up the day before and searched the entire town before finding the boy with her. When they couldn't find me, they left on the horses they stole from the town...dragging the boy's mangled body behind them...He had died to save me and I didn't even know his name. After I had mostly healed, the women, Anne, kept me for a long time. She let me stay and work on her farm. I was there for a year and a half before leaving. She gave me something i've always kept on me"

Kayleigh reached into her boot and pulled out the hunting knife I knew she kept hidden there, because she had once threatened me with it when we first met.

"This is the hunting knife the boy had used on me...Anne said he wanted me to have it, I don't know why...Maybe it was to have something to protect myself with or to have something to remember him by"

"Why did you change your mind, why are you telling me this..."

"I've been through a lot, you have too. And I know if it weren't for that boy, if it weren't for my brothers I wouldn't be sitting here now. I owe them everything, I owe them my life. If I had given up I would be insulting their memory and they would have died for nothing. I have to go on knowing that all this pain will be worth it someday. I can have a better life because that's what they all wanted for me. So me and you are going to go through a truck load of horse crap and pain and loss and just major suckiness but I know we can get through it as long as we push through it together...Because Dean the only better life I can see is one that I share with you"


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER 25: Kayleigh **

I watched Matt sitting on the rumble of the factory grounds as we walked away from camp and towards Evansville. We were to make our way a few miles north before entering the city to take over the militia fort nestled there. Luckily the only thing occupying the city is militia, so no citizens will get in the way when we charge through. Despite Dean's wishes, I came along. In place of my bow they handed me a large gun, the name I can't even remember because it was like a strange language to me. Dean showed me how to use it, aiming was no problem for me and I had gotten out a few practice shots before leaving...not that it would help since I had just started learning and it felt odd and uncomfortable in my hands. But it was going to be a lot better use then a bow and arrow...

Our whole unit including Jack, and with the exception of Matt and Ally, was moving quickly as we made our way into the woods. Dean was leading the way with Jack and Brian beside him looking over a small map of the area and arguing over the easiest and safest way to get to our position point Miles had marked with a red 'X'. I had barely had a chance to get to talk with Miles before leaving this morning, I hoped if we both survived this we would be able to talk as long as he wasn't busy now that he's general of the Georgian soldiers Foster had provided us with AND the rebels...I was able to catch up with Charlie and Jason, both of whom were joining our unit on our trek to Evansville.

"How are you doing?" I asked Jason, who I knew was still troubled by his Father's escape and learning that I had gotten hurt because of it.

"I'm all right, i'm sorry about what my father did to you" he replied, "I'm glad he didn't kill you"

"Thanks I'm glad he didn't kill me too" I said slightly laughing at his bluntness, looking ahead I could see Charlie talking with Jo, "So have you told her yet?"

"Told who what?" he said, even though his gaze shot right to Charlie before moving back to me.

"You're no longer militia. You risked your life to save me in Philly, you had a hand in saving us when you warned the rebels about the air strike in Annapolis. And not to mention you helped get information from your own father that helped stop the desecration of an entire city. I'm just surprised you two haven't gotten together or something. It wasn't hard to miss that you care about her. I saw that the day you pushed her from the train"

"Right, because that's what guys do to show affection. Push the girl off a moving train"

"You saved her life. She might not have realized that at first but she realizes now everything you've done and that you did it for _her_. So get over the 'I was once militia and almost got you killed' awkwardness and kiss her already"

"Ever since you finally got together with Dean, you've become more mushy you know that?" he replied.

"You know i'm right though" I said nudging him lightly in the arm with my elbow.

"Miles would probably kick my ass"

"Screw Miles, you and Charlie are adults and he's not her father. You shouldn't let what he thinks get in the way. Who's knows what's going to happen, you need to tell her how you feel"

"And what if i'm not sure how I feel"

"Stop being a baby and figure it out!"

"Thanks for the words of encouragement...They really help"

"That's why were friends" I replied.

"So, we're friends now?"

"Yeah once I got past the whole you almost got me and Dean killed thing, I realized you're actually not a_ completely_ horrible person"

"Well again, thank you, I appreciate that"

I smirked up at him, "You're very welcome"

"So are you ready for this? You're first time out on a real mission, right?"

"Yeah, just nervous"

"You'll be fine"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you have your friends by your side"

We finally made it to the marked position just over five miles north of Evansville, as the sun was setting. Dean sent me, Charlie, Jason and Brian to scout out the fort and find the best way in. With the cloudy night sky to cover us, we slowly made our way into the city and took refuge on the roof top of an abandoned pharmacy a few blocks down from the militia fort. We looked down the desolate street and towards the large building that read 'Golds Gym'. Two, long banners hung on each side of the entrance with militia emblems plastered on the dark background. We hung low, just so that we barely peeked over the side of the roofs, short brick wall.

"They only seem to be occupying the one building, which is good since Miles wants to surround them" Brian whispered from next to me. He handed me the binoculars and as I looked into them I could see guards standing not only at the front entrance but on the roofs as well. All armed with some serious fire power, much like the power plant back in Philly.

"Kind of odd place to set up don't you think?" Brian inquired.

"There's nothing. No cars, any kind of debris to hide behind when they start firing back. The only way to take them all out and have as low casualties as possible is if we hit them when it's still dark" Jason said ignoring Brian's comment as he took his turn with the binoculars.

"Miles wants to hit it an hour before dawn, that should give us enough time to make our move quickly into the building"

"Just because we don't see them doesn't mean they aren't occupying any other buildings" Charlie added, "There's no way to tell how many soldiers we're looking at"

"Well, let's hope Miles scouts can give us more information in time before we have to make our way into the city tomorrow" Brian replied to Charlie, "Come on, let's get out of here"

We started to make our way back to camp. Finding our way back in the dark wasn't easy but when we finally made it we were all tired and it was already late.

"All right, i'll report to Dean. You guys should get some sleep" Brian said to us. Any other time I would have told Brian to go ahead and let me report because it would give me an excuse to see Dean, but something stopped me. Instead, I went to the tent I was sharing with Jo and settled in. She barely stirred when I came in, she was already out cold. I settled into my sleeping bag, but I as hard as I tried I couldn't fall asleep. It was a mix of nerves and everything between me and Dean that kept me awake constantly tossing and turning. Soon enough I gave up, leaving the tent I went and sat in front of the dimming fire. I was so mesmerized by the sparks that I didn't even notice I wasn't alone until I felt his hand on my shoulder. I turned my head and looked up just as Mason was taking a seat beside me. It had been so crazy with the sudden relocation to Indiana that I hadn't really noticed how much everyone had changed over the last several weeks. Mason's hair was starting to grow out and it was as messy as ever. His face was starting to sport some thick stubble.

"Couldn't sleep either?" he said, his voice was raspy and strained from exhaustion. He sat beside me, picking up a stick and poking the embers of the fire with it.

"Yeah, too much on my mind"

"Me too"

"Worried about Ally?" I asked.

"Aren't I always?" he replied laughing, "I guess you too though. I saw Matt's face when we left camp"

"Yeah, he worries about my safety probably more then I do"

"You and Dean are all he has now. I don't blame the kid"

"Not just me and Dean. He has you, Colin and Ally, he has Jo and Brian. He has all of us"

"I guess your right" he said with a smile and a nod, "Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah sure"

"Ally isn't really my sister"

"But...But you look so much alike..."

"That was just lucky coincidence. I was the nine when the blackout happened. I didn't have any family before that, I was just an orphan living in a group home with about a dozen other kids, I never even knew my parents. When the power went out it was chaotic, the adults left us and some older kids too. But there was this one kid, Alex, he was sixteen and he took in all the younger kids who couldn't fend for themselves, including me. Seven years, thats how long we stayed together, but thats when militia found us. They tried to round us up and take us, now I can only assume they wanted us as soldiers. Alex tried to save them and was shot down in the process, me and only two others escaped. Everyone else had been captured or killed. We spent months walking through wilderness, when George got sick we took up refuge in an abandoned apartment complex. It was late one night when I heard a child crying a few apartments down. When I went to investigate I found a little girl, only five years old sitting next to her dead parents. They had gun shots to the head and must have been dead for days because the smell was unbearable"

"The little girl was Ally?" I asked.

He nodded, "When she saw me she stopped crying, I went over to her and had to pry her hands from her mothers body...When I did she clung to me so tight I thought she'd surely choke me" he said, slightly smiling at the memory, "Ever since then I've been taking care of her. I don't know if it was the trauma of the memory that made her push what happened to her parents to the back of her mind but ever since I picked her up...well, she believes i'm actually her brother"

"Are you ever going to tell her"

"No, I don't want to be the one to bring back that memory for her...you've seen her? She's so happy, _all the time_. I don't think I'd have the guts to break her heart like that even if that means I have to continually lie. I've never told anyone that story before...Not even Colin, Brian or Dean"

"Why?"

"I don't know...And I don't know why i'm telling you now"

"Maybe you just needed someone to understand why you did what you did...So you'd know that you did the right thing? And you did, you saved her life...Most people would have ignored it. Most people would have left her there. You're right to keep it from her I guess, it would kill her...I don't think she could handle remembering what really happened"

"Do you really believe that?"

"Yes...I heard my mother scream and beg when she was killed by militia. I would give anything to be able to forget that"

"How old were you?"

"I was only ten"

"I'm sorry"

"I was lucky though. I was lucky enough to have two big brothers to take care of me. Ally is just as lucky to have you. You are her brother Mason, maybe not by blood but you certainly deserve that title"

"Thanks Kayleigh"

An hour had gone by when Dean emerged from his tent and started to rally everyone up. We packed up everything as quick as we could and started to head towards the city. We never received intel from Miles side, so we weren't sure what we were getting into and that's never good. Dean brought us to the tree line just outside the outer part of the city that was mainly occupied by town houses. He looked at us all for a moment, our small little rebel unit of twenty.

"Whatever happens today" he said,

"I want you to know how much this unit means to me. I think of every one of you as my family. I want you to know i'll fight by your sides till the very end. The day will come when we stop Monroe, when we can live in peace and I hope you're all there to see that day"

He turned to face the city, then turned to look at us all once more...

"Here we go"


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER 26: Kayleigh **

The ringing in my ears continued even as we advanced forward. Militia knew we were coming and had been ready for us, causing explosions hidden in several places to go off. The explosions were so close I could feel the heat as we fell back from the wave and others dived down to take cover. But we had to keep moving, getting up we ran towards the building, sending bullets through the large glass windows of the gym. The rebel Rudy, suddenly fell to the ground beside me, I looked back to see a bullet had pierced through the back of his head.

"TAKE COVER!" I heard someone yell, "SNIPER!"

I felt an arm pull me into the gym, it was Brian with Jo following closely behind. We took fire from both behind and in front of us. Coming into the building, Brian jumped over and behind a counter that had been used as reception. Taking refuge behind it with a wall to our backs we started to fire back. I looked back out the window back near the front of the gym and didn't see anyone else. It was just me, Brian and Jo as we fired at the militia who were taking cover behind kicked over metal tables and around corners. Near the back of the gym I could see stairs that led up to the second floor, that was more like a large balcony looking over the main floor. We were starting to get over whelmed by the soldiers firing at us, Brian had just missed getting hit by a bullet from a soldier coming in the entrance. Jo had seen him just in time and took him out before he could fire again.

"Your welcome" she said to Brian as he ducked behind the table. I switched with him, getting up on my knees I sent a bullets flying towards the soldiers, only hitting two, and barely nicking one.

"Where the hell did everyone go" I said ducking down once more, as Jo got up to fire.

"I don't know" Brian replied, "Where the hell are those Georgian soldiers!"

Jo screamed in pain, falling back behind the counter she was gripping her shoulder, blood leaking through the openings of her fingers.

"Brian give me your shirt!" I said quickly. He threw me his flannel button up and I ripped and tied part of it over her wound, luckily for him he wasn't completely exposed as he had been wearing a white muscle tank underneath. Jo grimaced and cursed as I tightened the make shift bandage around her. Brian started to rapidly fire his gun at the soldiers, practically taking out at least half of them as they had tried to advance from seeing Jo get hit. He ducked back down and pulled out his empty clip and stuck another in.

"Hey, be careful Rambo" Jo said looking up at him, "That's your last clip"

He looked at down at her, then out of nowhere he leaned in and kissed her. I looked away, getting up I fired shots at militia and suddenly from the second floor a round of fire came down. Not directed at us, but at the militia soldiers below. It didn't take long for them to take the rest out as they had the better vantage point. The Georgian soldiers who had come in from the second floor now slowly made their way down the steep steps, their guns raised ready in case of any militia still standing. One came over to us as the others searched the back rooms,

"You guys all right?" he asked. I looked back at Jo and Brian who were staring at each other, both with big grins on their faces.

"Yeah, we're fine" I said looking back at the Georgian soldier.

"Some of the others got held up within the back parking lot, the militia had explosives and men waiting there"

"Same with us in the front" Brian said as he helped Jo to her feet.

The Georgian soldier, who introduced himself as Lt. Jonathan Michaels followed us to the front. Jonathan went out first, his gun raised he went slowly, only a few steps at a time as he looked to the side streets and roof tops in case of militia. He waved back at us to follow, Brian had his arm around Jo as he helped her out the door. I followed behind, keeping my eyes trained on the gym's roof top. A soldier in a Georgian uniform peeked over the side of the roof and yelled 'clear' when he saw Lt. Michaels below. There were only two bodies on the ground, Rudy and a militia soldier which looked like he had fallen from out the window of the building across the street, blood poured from his head and around the bullet wounds in his back. It only hit me then what we had done, looking at the militia soldier's face I saw that he barely looked sixteen...It almost made me sick to see the boy's body lying there on the ground as the blood pooled around him.

_He was someone's son...someones brother..._

"Kayleigh, come on" Brian said, bringing me back from my thoughts. Before following them down the street, I leaned over and closed the boys eyes, when I turned to follow Brian, Jo and Lt. Michaels were all staring at me. I ignored the confusion in their faces and started walking down the side of the gym, they followed as we made our way towards the back. We could hear the rapid fire of guns as we grew closer to the back parking lot. Jonathan took lead as we got near the corner, he peeked around it then pulled back quickly and looked at me,

"I can't see any-"

Suddenly, blood splattered onto my face as Jonathan fell to the ground. Jo and Brian ran behind a turned over truck, but I stayed as I dropped my gun and turned him over.

"Kayleigh!" Brian yelled at me.

He was still alive as blood poured from his chest and I wasn't going to leave him. I tried to cover the bullet hole with my hands to stop the bleeding but it didn't help as the bullet had went right through him. It must have hit one of his lungs because he coughed up blood and was gasping for air.

His lung had collapsed. He grabbed my hand and looked up at me in desperation as I stared back at him...Suddenly, I felt Brian grab me around the waist and lift me up, carrying me back with him behind the truck just as a bullet whizzed by, slightly grazing my forehead.

"Jesus Kayleigh, you were almost killed!" he yelled at me, "Dean would have skinned my ass!"

"There was nothing you could do for him" Jo said to me, as I ignored Brian's remark and continued to stare at Jonathan as he continued to cough and then finally his body went still and he was no longer coughing. She ripped part of Brian's already torn shirt with her pocket knife and started to dab at the wound on the left side of my forehead and wiped Jonathan's blood from my face. Every few seconds we could hear the bullets from the sniper that had killed Jonathan hit the truck we were hiding behind. We sunk lower and squeezed together as the bullets continued...Then there was silence. None of us dared to come out...knowing that he could easily hit us if we decided to get curious from the silence. A scream erupted from the building where the sniper was perched, then we heard the faint smack of a body hitting the ground.

"Hey! You guys can come out now!" we heard someone shout. If it wasn't for the recognizable thick irish accent we wouldn't have dared move from our cover of the truck. We looked up towards one of the windows of the apartment building the sniper had hidden in, standing on the balcony of the apartment was Colin and Mason. Colin had raised the sniper rifle above his head, we could just barely make out his smile as they waved down to us. Mason headed back into the room as Colin got down on his stomach, with the sniper rifle in his hands and the vantage point of the balcony across from the gym parking lot he started taking shots at the militia soldiers. Mason met us at the entrance of the apartment and took us upstairs to the room where he had just been with Colin. When we got to the room Mason threw me the militia soldiers pack. Inside I found a medical kit that I used to fix up Jo. As I started to stitch her up, Brian sat by her side and held her hand. They didn't take their eyes from each other the whole time and Mason looked at me with a confused expression when he saw. I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders in reply.

"What happened to everyone?" I asked Mason when I had finished and got up to leave Jo and Brian alone. We stood by the balcony's door as we watched Colin in action.

"I don't know, when the explosions went off everyone scattered. Dean and Jack took off into the opposite building of the gym to take out the sniper there...I haven't seen them since" he replied, "They were ready for us, they must have known that we would hit this place next since we took over Marion"

"Or someone warned them..."

"You don't mean to say we have a spy?"

I didn't answer, not liking the idea that we had one in our midst...

"All right let's go" Colin said coming back into the room.

"Did you get all of them?" I asked.

"I ran out of ammo. They're heading right for this building though so we should probably get out"

We ran from the room, making our way down the twisting halls and to the stair well. But when we started down the stairs we could hear the militia yelling from the bottom. We ran back onto the fourth floor,

"What now, they'll have the exits surrounded" Jo said.

"We let them come" Mason said, "No survivors remember?"

We lied in wait for the militia soldiers to make their way up, then as they exited the stair well we caught them by surprise as they made their way into the hall. Popping out from different apartments we surrounded them. We took them out in seconds, there was only three of them and five of us, even though I hadn't shot a single bullet...We made our way back down the stairs and towards the entrance, two militia soldiers lied in wait at the front. Before we could even blink they dropped to the ground as several bullets hit them square in the chest. Coming out from the corner and in front of the entrance was Charlie and Jason. We joined them outside and we all made our way around the city streets carefully. When I passed Jonathan's body I shut his eye lids like I had the militia soldier and removed the dog tags that hung around his neck. The name imprinted on them wasn't his own, but belonged to a 'Connor N. Michaels'. I put them in his already stiffened hand, and placed his hands atop his chest. We continued on, trying to find any survivors, including militia ones. We passed bodies of both Georgian and militia soldiers as we made our way down an alley. Every non-uniformed body I saw I ran to check, afraid that it was a friend. We found Miles amongst Georgian soldiers back behind the gym in the parking lot...Alive thankfully. They were carrying militia bodies and piling them atop each other.

"All the bodies...What are they going to do with them?" I asked softly, looking up at Mason.

"Burn them" he replied and headed over to help. Everyone else followed except me, I stood frozen in place. I was afraid to look upon the faces of the lives we had destroyed.

_It's just militia...It's just militia..._

I told myself that over and over again. But no matter how many times I said it, it didn't change the sickening feeling in my stomach as I watched the pile of bodies grow larger and larger. Jo was helping collect the fallen militia's weapons since she couldn't do any heavy lifting with her wounded shoulder. She looked back and saw me with tears falling down my face. I held her gaze for a moment before turning away from everything. I felt ashamed and foolish for crying over them. I couldn't understand how I could feel this way, after everything militia had done to me...All the pain and suffering that came from them and the man they fought for.

"Are you all right?" Mason asked putting a gentle hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"I know it sucks but it's a necessary evil...You get use to it"

"I don't think I can" I replied.

"You of all people know what it's like. We do what we have to. To survive, to keep our families safe. If that means becoming a monster to get rid of a bigger monster then so be it"

He walked back to continue to help pile the bodies and I followed to help Jo collect the weapons avoiding the silent, pale faces of the militia soldiers as much as possible. I now understood why Miles drank so much...

"We never found his body...He could still be alive" Colin said trying to reassure me.

"What about Jack?" I asked, staring at the fire as it grew bigger and bigger. We stood far away so that we didn't have to smell the burning flesh...But it didn't matter, the wind had picked up, a storm must be coming. I nearly puked at the smell and had to walk away into one of the buildings just to get away from it. Colin, Brian, Mason and Jo followed me in,

"He's still missing too" Colin replied finally.

"What are the odds that they're together?" Jo asked just as worried as me.

"They must be, they were next to each other when the explosions scattered us" Brian said.

I sat down on the floor and leaned against the office buildings front counter, a large sign labeled 'Reception' hung above it. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. My whole life, I had never prayed once, not until now. I prayed that Dean and Jack were still alive and I prayed that they would find their way back to us.

"I know no one wants to say it...But we're all thinking it" Mason said suddenly.

We all looked at him, with dreadful expressions...Knowing exactly what he was going to suggest but not wanting it to come out of his mouth...

"What if they were captured"

"Neither of them will talk. They'd die rather than give us up" Jo replied.

"They could be dead already then, militia officers aren't exactly patient" Brian said abruptly.

"I appreciate the optimism Smith"

We all whipped our heads around to see Dean and Jack standing at the entrance to the building. I jumped up so quickly that I had to collect myself from the rush to my head before running to Dean and throwing my arms around him. He cringed back in pain when I did,

"He took quite a beating from the force of that first explosion" Jack said to me when I released Dean,

"Knocked him out cold, didn't even get a chance to fight. I had to get his ass to safety because of that sniper on the roof"

"Thank you, again by the way" Dean said looking over at Jack, "How many men did we loose?"

"Fifteen Georgian, nine rebels...including Rudy, he was the only one from our unit" Brian replied, "No militia survivors"

"That we know of..." Mason added.

"Hey, we're moving out!" a Georgian soldier called into the building.

We followed him out into the street, we walked together down the road back towards the woods to make camp for the night, letting the moon light guide us. Brian helping Jo, their hands intertwined, as they walked along side Charlie and Jason who were standing closer to each other then I had ever seen them. I saw Charlie as she stole a glance up at Jason, he was too busy looking forward to see the adoring smile on her face. Colin and Mason were singing the old national anthem at the top of their lungs as they took lead of our small group. Jack following behind them, yelling at them to shut up because _'no one needs to know what a dying cat sounds like'_. Me and Dean brought up the rear, my arm around him as I supported his broken body.

"So how do you feel after your first battle?" Dean asked me as we lagged behind.

"I don't know..."

He stopped walking turned his body painfully around and faced me,

"Are you all right?" he asked putting his hand under my chin and examining my face.

"I was just worried about you that's all...I'm fine" I half lied.

"Are you sure?" he said, not really believing me anyway.

"Yep. Now come on, we're falling behind"

We made it back into Marion in the evening the next day, as we walked into camp I was greeted by a suffocatingly tight hug from Matt. I looked up to see Ally doing the same to Mason, I smiled knowing just how much he had done for her. Mason swung his arm around her and she did the same as they continued up the path towards the tents. Matt went to the other side of Dean as we helped him walk up the path as well.

"We need to get you to the medical tent" I told him.

"Why? When I have you?" he smirked. It felt normal between us once again and I wasn't sure if it was him feeling better or he was just putting on a face for me. I brought him back to my tent, Matt helped me set him down. Dean leaned back on the floor, holding his rib cage in pain.

"Did you kill anybody?!" Matt asked me, almost a little too excited about it.

"_Matt_" Dean said looking at him with a hard glance.

"Sorry"

"It's late Matt" I said, referring to his bed time.

"Aw, do I have too?"

"Yes" I said sternly and he got up to leave, but hugged both me and Dean tightly one last time before running out.

"That kid sometimes...I don't know" Dean said chuckling. After lighting the lantern hanging on the pole that supported the tent up, I grabbed my pack, pulling what medical supplies I had left. Salve, bandages. Well, that was pretty much it...

"Is that your blood?" Dean suddenly asked me, looking at my t-shirt. I looked down and saw blood stains all over it...

"No...I didn't even realize..."

The blood almost scared me, I had already washed my face and hands in a river when we were making our way back but I hadn't even noticed my blood stained clothes.

"Hey, it's okay" he said taking my hand, "I can wait if you want to change"

I just nodded in reply, feeling sick again as I looked down at the dried blood. I grabbed what clean clothes I had left in my pack, a pair of blue skinny jeans, a black bandeau for my chest and a simple, grey muscle tank.

"Don't mind me" Dean said, smirking viciously at me.

"You're such a pig" I replied, pulling my boot off and throwing it at him.

"I'm sorry, i'll close my eyes" he said.

"Are they closed?" I asked.

"Yes"

"All the way?"

"Yes! Now, hurry up!"

I pulled off my other boot and slipped off my shorts. I pulled on my jeans then sat back on the ground and turned my back to Dean, just in case he was peeking as I pulled my shirt over my head. I know it didn't really matter, it was nothing he hadn't seen of me before but I still felt squeamish about it sometimes. I reached back and unclipped my bra, which had been stained with blood when it leaked through my thin t-shirt. I looked back at Dean before pulling it all the way off. He was so still I almost thought he was asleep. But he stirred, scratching his cheek and yawning widely. Something in me caused me to pull my jeans back off and to throw my shirt and bandeau to the side...and then move back over to Dean half naked...Call it what you will but after Evansville I didn't want to take the chance I would never be with him again. I straddled myself over his lap, when he felt me on top of him he smiled and opened his eyes...Only to have his smile fade when he saw me half naked. He looked up at me in the most adorable look of confusion. I knew it took him every fiber in his being to have his eyes focused on mine and not any where else...

"I'm calling in that rain check" I whispered. He forcefully pushed his lips to mine, kissing me he moved his hands around me even if it may have hurt him to do so. The kiss was so intense so...I don't know...I can't think straight with his hands running all over me. My hands moved to his shirt as I unbuttoned it and pushed it back off his body. We sank back on my sleeping bag, still kissing...still touching...His body pressed to mine it wasn't hard for me to lose myself in him...

My head was resting on his shoulder, my nose nuzzled up against his neck. We had squeezed into my sleeping bag...still somewhat bare from our previous activity...or should I say activities...My chest was pushed up against his from his tight grip around me. His hand was stroking my back. His eyes were closed and so were mine as we just held each other in silence. The sun was just coming up, as it leaked through a crack in my tent. Neither of us had slept yet and we were only just starting to drift off. I could feel his fingers start to slow as he started to fall asleep, soon enough his hand stopped all together. As tired as I was I kept myself awake...knowing that it wouldn't be long before I was going to have to leave the comfort of Dean and the sleeping bag to check on Matt...Realizing it would be better for me to go find him before he found me, I carefully unzipped the sleeping bag and slipped out. Dean didn't even stir as I zipped it back up around him, leaning in I kissed his cheek lightly. I grabbed my clothes and got dressed. After braiding back my hair, I left the tent and made my way through camp looking for Matt but instead I ran into Miles.

"Hey" he said.

"Hey"

I wasn't really sure what to say, it had been so long since we were alone together, the last time having been me yelling at him.

"Are you all right. I mean, I know it was your first time out there the other day. I know what those kind of things can do to you. How are you holding up"

"I've been better, but i'll be okay" I replied.

"I never wanted this for you" he said, "Your mother never would have wanted this for you"

"I know, but I have to-"

"General Matheson, Sir" a Georgian soldier said running up to us, "I'm sorry to interrupt but we found a militia runner about ten miles north of here. He's asking for...for the both of you, Sir"

The soldier looked at me and so did Miles. We followed him back to the tent where they had tied down the militia runner. He was young, maybe early twenties with dirty blonde hair and an already beaten face.

"Okay," Miles said walking up to him, "tell me what you got"

"It's from General Monroe sir...And it's private"

Miles nodded at the three Georgian soldiers occupying the tent to leave and I started to follow when the militia soldier stopped me.

"The girl stays too" he said. After the Georgian soldiers had left the militia runner gathered himself before speaking again.

"General Monroe has asked you to meet him in your home town and to bring Kayleigh along with you. He wants you there by dawn"

"And why the hell would I do that?"

"Sir, I was asked to recite this next part word for word from the General...so forgive me"

The militia runner hesitated, sweat dripping from his forehead and a look of fear sweeping across his thin face.

"Go ahead" Miles said already annoyed.

"Miles you are to bring Kayleigh back to me and you will turn yourself in or else i'm going to kill everyone in our hometown I swear to god. Anyone you ever loved or cared about will die. Just because they know you" the militia runner couldn't look at Miles as he recited Monroe's message. He gulped before saying the last bit,

"Starting with Emma"


	27. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER 27: Dean**

My hand moved over the empty space next to me. I opened my eyes to see Kayleigh was no longer beside me, but her locket was lying on the ground next to me. Not only was she missing, but so was her brown leather pack. I carefully pushed the sleeping bag off and threw on my clothes. I could barely lift my shirt over my head because of the fractured ribs and bruising all over my body. I felt confused and slightly hurt to not find her here anymore but I shook it off as I was pulling on my blue military cargo pants and combat boots. I left the tent, stuffing the locket into my pocket and limping as I walked around camp. I looked for Kayleigh but there was no sign of her.

"Hey have you seen Miles?" Charlie asked running up to me.

"No, Kayleigh's missing too. Captain Dixon should know where Miles is, i'll come with you" I told her and we headed for the supervising officers tent. Going in we found Dixon beating hard on a militia soldier.

"What's going on?" Charlie asked, "Where's Miles?"

"Miles and Kayleigh snuck out a few hours ago" Nora replied.

"Where'd they go?" Charlie asked.

"The girl asked you a question, are you gonna answer or not?" Dixon said throwing another punch at the boy's face.

"Tell us everything" Jim Hudson said moving towards the boy as a Georgian soldier pushed him back into a chair.

"They're headed for Miles' hometown" he said breathing heavily and spitting blood onto the ground.

"Why" said Jim forcefully.

"Because...Monroe asked nicely"

I lunged at him, pushing him to the floor I punched him with everything I had. Jim and Dixon grabbed me from behind and pulled me off the militia soldier. I fell back onto the floor, gripping my side in pain. Charlie came over to me and helped me back up. Looking back down at the militia soldier I saw that he was laughing.

"What's so funny? Speak or i'll let him gut you" Jim said, gesturing to me as he lifted the soldier from the ground and back into the chair.

"Even if you do go after them. It'll be too late for Miles and I have a feeling General Monroe won't give up his daughter so easily this time"

"His daughter?" Dixon asked, a mix of confusion and fury spreading across his face, "You mean to tell me that, that rebel girl is General Monroe's daughter?! Did none of you think it important to tell me or Foster we had such leverage under our wing!"

"Kayleigh is not some piece of meat for you to dangle in front of Monroe!" I yelled at Dixon.

"She's a spy Captain" he replied staring me down, "Just because you get the benefit of sleeping with her doesn't mean she isn't sneaking behind-"

I lunged at Dixon but before I could throw any punches Charlie and Nora pulled me back.

"Get this hot head out of here...before he _screws_ anything else" Dixon said snidely.

"Now!" he yelled when no one moved. Charlie supported me as she and Nora walked me out of the tent.

"I'm going after them" I said when we were a good distance away.

"You can barely walk, let alone go on a rescue mission" Charlie said.

"I'm not going to sit here and let Monroe take her from me...Not again"

"We'll get her back" Nora said to me, "You need to stay here, keep order between Rebels and Georgians. You're the only one who can"

"Dixon's going to want to go after Miles. We'll go with him, make sure he doesn't get them killed. We'll take down Monroe and get Kayleigh back, I promise" Charlie said, "You need to rest or you're never going to heal"

"Fine...Just get her back"

Charlie and Nora helped me over to Jack, who was sitting outside his tent with Matt at his side as they played cards. Matt looked up, when he saw me he waved with a big smile on his face. He looked to Charlie and Nora, waving to them as well but as he looked between the three of us his smile faded.

"Where's Kayleigh?" He asked as Charlie set me down so Jack could look me over. Charlie and Nora looked helplessly down at me, hoping I would be the one to explain that Kayleigh had left him to go after Monroe with Miles.

"Kid...She's uh...on a secret mission"

"Another mission?" he said with worry all over his face.

"Yep, top secret. She'll be gone for a few days but nothing to worry about she has Miles with her. She told me to tell you that she loves you and she'll see you soon"

"Why didn't she say goodbye to me" he asked looking up at Charlie and Nora then back at me.

"She asked me to give you this" I said pulling her locket out of my pocket, "said she wanted you to keep it safe for her until she gets back"

He slowly lifted the locket out of my hand and turned it over in his tiny fingers. He put it over his head and tucked it under his t-shirt.

"She is coming back, right?" he asked, still unsure of what was going on.

"Of course...I promise" I said, hesitating at those last words.

I looked up at Charlie and Nora, Charlie nodded to me and they both headed back up towards Dixon's tent. I watched as soon enough Charlie, Nora, Dixon and Jim headed out on horses.

"Hey Matt! You wanna practice shooting with me?" Ally asked coming up to us.

"I hope you don't mean guns..." I said looking up at her wearily as Jack was wrapping a long white bandage tightly around my upper body.

"Bow and Arrow. Kayleigh taught us how to shoot" she replied cheerfully.

"Can I?" Matt asked, looking up at me with pleading eyes.

"Go on" I replied, shooing him off, knowing he would be better off distracted with Ally then worrying about Kayleigh for the rest of the day.

"What's really going on?" Jack asked after Matt was out of ear shot.

"Miles and Kayleigh have gone off to Miles hometown, apparently because Monroe asked them to"

"Why would they do that?"

"I don't know but Miles wouldn't have brought Kayleigh into something like that unless there was a good reason for it"

"You think it's a trap"

"Of course it is. That's why Charlie, Nora, Jim and Captain Dick head left. They're going after them"

"You shouldn't get on Dixon's bad side. He may be an ass but he's a powerful one and we can't afford getting into fights with the people who are partly responsible for all the wins we've been having against Monroe"

"Miles is the one responsible for all of our wins. Besides its too late for that..." I replied.

"Did you punch the guy?"

"Tried too"

He shook his head at me, taping the bandage down and putting away his things.

"He accused Kayleigh of being a spy...Then made a comment about how she was sleeping with me to get information for Monroe"

"I probably would have punched him too. But i'm just an out of work vet, you on the other hand are in a completely different position and shouldn't be punching superior officers"

"He's the same rank as me"

"He's a Georgian officer who reports back to President Foster. If he decides the rebels aren't worth butting up with because of a grudge he's holding against you, what do you think that'll do to us?" he asked rhetorically, "Get along with him. You don't have to like the guy, just don't try to beat him up again"

"I can't promise anything"

"Dean" he said sternly, "She's going to be okay you know? She's with Miles"

"I know that"

"Hey man" Brian said coming up to us, "Matt just told me you said Kayleigh's on some 'Top secret mission'. Not so top secret if you tell the kid about it, just so you know"

"She's not on a top secret mission" I replied a little too harshly.

He looked at me then to Jack,

"What's going on?"


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER 28: Kayleigh **

We rode straight to Dubois County, only stopping to let the horses rest and have water every once and a while. We got there after dark, staying amongst the forest that surrounded the little town. The buildings were old and worn, I could see a large church that stood in the middle of the town. From our hiding place amongst the trees me and Miles watched as militia soldiers were ushering the towns people into a large building.

"That's the court house" Miles said pointing to it.

"What are we going to do?" I said.

"I don't know, I'm still working on that"

"You don't have a plan!?" I asked frantically.

"That's nothing new, you know me I just go along as it comes to me"

We had guns, swords and I had my bow and quiver of arrows in case we ran out of ammo. I hoped Miles knew what he was getting into, I couldn't see a plan that came out with no one innocent getting hurt.

"Miles...Miles-"

"Sh! I'm thinking..."

"Miles!"

He turned to look at me,

"He wants you more than me" I said, "If you create a distraction, I can sneak in the court house and get the people out and into the woods"

"That'll have to work, look" he said pointing back at the court house. It was on fire, smoking and flame bursting from the windows and door ways.

"Go!" he said shooing me in the direction of the back of the court house. I ran as fast as I could and stayed low as guns started going off where Miles had run. Hiding behind the skeleton of a car I could see a man guarding a back door. Luckily his back was to me as he had his gun aimed at the door to stop anyone from leaving the burning building. I snuck up behind him and hit him over the head with the butt of the gun, and dragged his body back towards the car. Taking the zip ties from his own pocket I tied him down so that he couldn't move once he came too. I ran into the building, covering my nose and mouth with my shirt so I wouldn't inhale the smoke from the building fire. I could hear the screams of the trapped citizens coming from a locked room. Remembering my pin I reached into my shirt, but when I had changed this morning I had forgotten to remove the pin from my old bra. I cursed to myself for being so stupid and tried breaking down the door by ramming it with my own body. The growing heat of the fire and smoke was starting to get to me and I grew weak as I continued to ram the door. The roof collapsed over the door way where I had come in. I could hear gun shots still ringing as Miles continued to distract the soldiers. And it must have been working because Miles came rushing into the court house from the front entrance and right towards me.

"I can't get it open!" I yelled in panic.

"Get away from the door!" he yelled back, then taking his gun he shot the lock, pushing back the door we helped the people from the room.

"Miles..." said a red haired woman, looking up at him in shock.

"Come on, we gotta move" he said. I continued to help people out of the basement, pretending that I didn't notice the tension between Miles and that woman. As we ran back towards the front, we met bullets that came bursting through the door and windows as the soldiers tried keeping us in.

"Get down!" Miles yelled at everyone, as the bullets started flying towards us. The people screamed and huddle amongst each other as they dived to the floor.

The fire was starting to over take the entire building, we couldn't stay here any longer or else the whole place was going to collapse on top of us, leaving us trapped. But we couldn't leave either or else risk getting shot down by militia guns.

"What are we gonna do?" the red head asked Miles.

"It's good to see you again" he said, ignoring her question knowing it was hopeless.

"Yeah" she replied slightly smiling, but it faded as fire over took the ceiling above us and the towns people screamed in terror.

"Miles" I said grabbing him by the arm and pointing to the side door "I still have a full clip"

There was two militia soldiers just outside the side door with their guns pointed right inside. I handed Miles my gun, knowing he'd be a better shot then me. But before he even cocked it bullets rang out, but they didn't come from the soldiers. Instead they hit them and as they fell to the ground Nora and Jim Hudson appeared from outside the door.

"Miles, come on!" Jim yelled.

"Everybody let's move! Let's GO! GO! GO!" Miles yelled at everyone. I helped Miles make sure everyone got out of the buildings as the fire started to collapse the ceilings, causing it to fall over where we had just been.

"Get to the woods behind the high school" Miles said to me and the woman as he picked up the dead militia soldiers gun.

"What about you?" the woman asked.

"Just go! Kayleigh get them out of here!"

I nodded as the woman helped me lead the people away from the gun fire Nora and Jim were trying to hold back. Miles ran to them as we got away, the woman leading the towns people towards the high school. I stayed at the rear, making sure no militia soldiers were following when suddenly someone grabbed me from behind and put a gun to my head.

"I'm not letting you get away that easy" a familiar voice whispered in my ear as the crook of his arm wrapped around my neck. Monroe pulled me back towards the square, where his soldiers were in a stand off with Miles, Nora and Jim. As he pulled me closer I even caught a glimpse of Charlie and Captain Dixon.

"Miles!" Monroe yelled, "Come on out!"

Monroe pushed me towards the middle of the square. Miles and the others were taking cover behind large marble statues that laid in front of the still burning court house. I could hear the clicking of their guns as they pointed them at me and Monroe. But he was smart enough to use me as a shield, I could feel the barrel of the gun against the side of my head as he pushed me a couple steps farther forward.

"We got the family back together!" he yelled at Miles, "Just me, you and Kayleigh. Like old times right! When you use to watch her for Sarah. You'd take her and Charlotte out in that old mustang of yours..."

There was silence from Miles's side...They disappeared behind the statues when Monroe had moved closer.

"Come out Miles or i'll kill her"

"Go ahead, kill her I don't care!" Miles yelled back...I hoped he was bluffing...

"Right! You don't care! She's your goddaughter Miles! You're like a father to her right? More then I ever was" Monroe yelled back, "I'm counting to five Miles!"

"Please!" I said gripping his arm that was tight around my neck, "I don't want to die..."

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

"Please" I continued, "I'll do anything, please you don't have to do this!"

"THREE!"

"Please...Dad!"

He froze, I could feel the gun move a bit farther away from my head.

"Get him to come out" he whispered.

"What would she say? What do you think she'd say if she could see you now" I said to him, tears rolling down my cheeks,

"I'm your daughter...I'm your daughter"

I looked up at him, his lip quivered as his mind flowed to memories of my mother. I could see on his face that he wouldn't have hurt me...I knew he wouldn't hurt me...Tears started to roll down his face as well,

"I'm sorry I have to do this" he said, but he was lying I knew he wasn't going to kill me because his grip loosened around my neck. I tried to force a smile as I looked up at him.

A shot rang out.

I felt a blinding, sharp pain pierce me as we both fell to the ground. I fell on my back, my eyes moving up towards the sky. It was dark as the clouds covered the view of the stars that were just beyond them and glistening somewhere above us. A flash of a woman with blonde hair popped into my mind as she spun a little girl around by her arms, they were both laughing. The little girl squealed with glee and a wide smile spread across my face...

Suddenly, Monroe's face appeared over me, covering my view of the darkened sky. He was screaming now, the tears still rolling faster down his cheeks. He turned away from me and started firing back in Miles direction. My vision grew blurry and it was hard to focus on him or anything else. The last thing I saw was Monroe being dragged away from me by his own men...

"Sir we have to go! You're hurt, you need a doctor!" I heard one of them say.

"NO! I won't leave her! Not again!"

I felt numb and cold as I laid there on the ground, feeling my own blood run out of my body.

As everything...

Started...

To...

Go...

Dark...

_"But daddy!" I pleaded with him as he looked down at me with a hardened glare. _

_"No, you can't go with your mother. I don't like the idea of it being just the two of you out there"_

_"So come with us" my sweet faced mother replied, looking up from the pack she was stowing jars and tin cans into. _

_"You know I can't"_

_"Then Zach can come with us" she said, pulling back the string of the pack so that it was tightly closed. _

_"The boys are still out hunting, they won't be back for a few more days" _

_"I have to collect the herbs now before the storm comes and I could use the help" she said, winking down at me. _

_"Please! Please daddy!" I said grabbing the sleeve of his shirt and jumping up and down. _

_"All right! But don't stay out long and don't leave this area!" he said firmly. _

_"Thank you!" I squealed throwing my arms around his waist. But he pushed me firmly back away from him,_

_"I'll be out"_

_My mother watched him as he grabbed his coat and left in a hurry. Her face was sad as she watched him walk down the road and towards town from beside the window. _

_"What's wrong mommy?"_

_"Nothing sweet thing" she replied, looking down at me and stroking my hair, "Come on dear, we need to pack some things for you"_

_She took my hand and led me down the hall to my room. She helped me pack some of my clothes in my small pink polka dot backpack, including my stuffed teddy, the one I could never go anywhere without. We left through the back door, walking through the back yard we headed out towards the woods to collect herbs together..._

"Is she going to be okay?"

"She's very lucky, Miles. _Very. _Im surprised that she even survived a hit like that, she should be dead"

"She's a fighter" he replied, a hint of pride in his voice.

"She'll need to rest here a few more days before you move out. But that's only if she ever wakes up she it's possible she might not..."

The voices seemed so close, and as my eyes opened and adjusted to the light I could see they were. Miles and the red headed woman were standing just under the doorway of the tiny room I was in. The floral wallpaper made me feel queasy as I stared at it, the covers over me were just as bad. I sat up, my entire body ached and I could feel pressure below my chest as I tried swinging my legs off the bed. I was only wearing my bandeau and a pair of soft pajama pants. I looked down to see a large, but short scar running down my abdomen. I moved my fingers over the impressive stitching, trying to remember what had happened. I looked up at Miles and the woman, they were staring at me when I did. Miles ran over to me and lifted my legs back onto the bed and gently pushed me back against the pillows.

"You need to rest" he said.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice sore and raspy. The woman picked up a cup from atop a dresser across my bed and poured water from a glass pitcher into it. She brought it over and handed it to me.

"Dixon shot you trying to take down Monroe" Miles replied.

"And where's Dixon so I can give him a piece of my mind...Or my fist" I replied after chugging down the glass of water.

"I shot Dixon" Miles said looking at me sheepishly.

"Are you going to get in trouble for that?" I asked, concerned that he had just killed a Georgian officer...but not at the same time, because it was Dixon.

"I don't care about that" he replied.

"What...What about Monroe"

"He was hit, but he got away. I can only assume he's still alive"

"Kayleigh!" Charlie said when she ran into the room and saw me awake. Nora followed behind her as they came over to give me hugs.

"I'm glad you're okay" Nora smiled after pulling away.

"Thanks" I replied smiling back at both of them, "when can we get out of here. I want to go home"

"As soon as you heal a little more" the red headed woman said.

"If it's all right with you Emma, I'd like to get out of here today" Miles said, turning to look at her.

"She's not strong enough"

"I'm fine" I said looking up at Emma, "I've had worse"

"You always say that" Charlie said to me, as she sat down beside me.

"That's because it's true" I replied.

"Yes, I noticed the scars on your back" Emma said to me.

Charlie's threw me a concerned gaze, "What scars?" she asked.

"Just some scratches I got from an animal attack...No big deal"

Emma looked over me with the same concerned expression, I could tell she knew I was lying but she didn't say anything about it.

"I'll let you guys be on your way. But you have to take it easy, I know you're a rebel but you can't be off fighting militia or else you'll just make things worse on yourself"

"I know, I can handle it" I told her.

"Then it's settled, we leave in half an hour" Miles said then left the room with Emma running after him.

"Whats the story with them?" I asked Charlie and Nora after they had left.

"I don't want to know" said a clearly jealous Nora. Charlie and Nora helped me into my Jeans, but since being shot had ruined my muscle tank I had to get another shirt from someone else. It was mint green, it's sleeves short like a tank but lace lined the top just under the peter pan collar. It definitely wasn't something i'd _ever_ wear but I didn't want to be rude about it since they had saved my life, so I put it on reluctantly. Charlie helped me outside the small town house they used as a hospital and towards my grey and white speckled horse I had rode here on. I was starting to get acquainted with my tall companion and he butted his head into me when Charlie brought me over.

"Looks like someone else is happy to see you're awake too" Charlie said smiling as he nibbled the end of my shirt.

"Hey Indy" I whispered, ruffling his grey mane.

Charlie helped push me up onto his back, then untied his reins from the fence post and handed them up to me.

"Will you be all right?" she asked.

"Yep" I said smiling down at her despite the intense pain shooting through my abdomen. Nora had went ahead and brought Charlie's horse over to her and they both mounted as Miles came over to us, already on his tall brown steed.

"Come on" he said looking annoyed, "Let's get the hell out of here"


	29. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER 29: Kayleigh**

"Pack your crap, we're moving to Parkersburg" Miles said coming up to us. It was late, and about a week after I had been shot. Me, Dean, Matt, Brian and Jo, Jack, Colin, Mason and Ally were gathered around a small fire down the path away from the Marion camp.

"As in Georgia?" Brian said.

"Yes, be ready to move out in two hours" Miles replied and walked back up to camp.

"All right, you heard him" Dean said, being the first to get up. We all packed up our stuff and met Miles over by the horses.

"It's just us?" I asked him. Seeing that us, along with Jason, Charlie and Nora were the only ones that had met him there.

"They're taking care of the forts down here. Foster wants me to take over Parkersburg for a while" he replied, "There's things I have to do there"

We grabbed the horses and tied down our packs to the back of the saddles. I mounted Indy and pulled Matt up to sit behind me. We followed Miles in single file as we headed to our new home. Life as a rebel wasn't what I had thought it would be, with my being a medic for a while and now with yet another injury I didn't get as much fighting in as I had hoped too. Parkersburg was just fifty miles from the Indiana border of the Monroe Republic and The Georgia Federation. We made it in about a week, making sure to stay away from any other known militia spots when grew closer to the border. I had never been over the border before, and being only a few miles in Georgia you could immediately see the difference between the two nations. Georgia was always known for being richer, in every aspect. Money, land, everything and anything. As we walked along the sides of roads, buses and trucks running on steam engines would zoom by us. Both me and Matt were taken aback in awe, but everyone else ignored it as it was nothing new to them. We made our way through cities, all beautifully kept just like the people in them. Women dressed in sun dresses and large hats, men in suits as they paraded down the streets of markets and small restaurants. It was like being in a whole new world. It even smelled nicer here...As we made our way out of the city, Miles lead us to a more rural area. Heading up to a large compound, it was hard to tell what it had use to be since it was decorated with Georgian Federation emblems and signs on each of the different buildings signified different needs for the Georgian army. The largest was used as housing for the soldiers on base, a smaller one was directed as an armory, and many more such buildings were scattered over the enormous compound.

"General Matheson?" A Georgian soldier said coming up to us as we reached a building that read 'War Room'.

"That's me" Miles replied, not seemingly pleased to be here at all.

"I'm Major Cornwall. Your...Friends can settle into any empty rooms in the housing units. If you would come with me please" he said, signaling towards the building. Miles waved us off, heading back down to the building labeled housing, soldiers came to take our horses as we grabbed our stuff and headed inside. It almost looked more like a hotel use to back in the old days, kind of like The Grand back in Chicago but...Cleaner. We decided to stick together, it was hard enough having to be amongst Georgians, let alone being the only rebels on base...We found a two rooms that were large enough. Separating up, boys in one and girls in the other we tried to settle in. Bunk beds lined the walls in our room, allowing for at least eight people to stay here. There were dressers, as well as an area for a wash basin.

"Damn" Jo said, looking around the room, "We're not in the Monroe Republic anymore thats for sure"

"Bunch of entitled snobs if you ask me. I bet they couldn't last two days out there" Nora said meaning the Monroe Republic.

"What are we doing here anyway?" Charlie said, looking out one of the windows that lined the back wall.

"I don't know, Miles didn't say anything" Nora replied going to lie back on one of the beds. She sighed as she fell back on the mattress,

"Maybe being rich and entitled isn't so bad" she said closing her eyes for a nap.

"Oh my god..." Charlie said from by the window.

"What is it?" I asked coming over to her. She pointed outside, the window over looked the front of the building. Looking up the path towards the building Miles had gone into I saw what she was glaring at. It was former Major of the Monroe Republic, Tom Neville. I felt the anger building in me as I watched him strutting up towards the building.

"He's in a Georgian Uniform" I said looking up at Charlie in a look of horrid confusion. Charlie ran from the room, going next door to the boys room I followed her.

"Jason" she said, walking right in.

He looked up at her from his bunk, he had the idea of a nap just as Nora had.

"What is it?" he said getting up and seeing the anger that was all over our faces.

"It's your father"

"You've got to be kidding me Miles!" Charlie yelled, "What happened to killing him the next time you see him?"

"He's under President Fosters protection. He's now a viable asset and a Georgian officer. If we want her to continue to help us beat Monroe we have to work with him" Miles replied, already hitting the whiskey. Me, Charlie and Jason had ran out of the housing unit to see what the hell was going on, that Miles could just let Neville go strutting around the compound.

"You can't seriously mean we have to willingly work with him" Jason said angrily.

"There's a mission we need to get done or a lot of people are going to get hurt and we need Neville for it"

"We don't have a choice. Now get Nora, if we want this done we're going to need her too"

Jason and Charlie left in a heat of anger, I stayed behind watching Miles as he poured himself what seemed like his fourth glass...Probably more since he had already been drinking before we came in.

"So you're back to that now" I said gesturing at the glass in his hand.

"What made you think I ever stopped?" he replied, swigging down the glass then pouring another.

"So is that your plan? Drink your way through this war, fighting with people like Neville pretending like he didn't have a hand in Danny's death, in Rob's. All those rebels, those families. After Nicholas and almost killing me as well"

"I was once militia. I killed men, brothers, sons...What makes you think i'm any better then Tom?"

"You left, you gave up that life. You're a better person then that now"

"Am I?" he said irritated as he continued to drown himself in his whiskey, "What the hell do you think this is now?"

"But you are...You are a better person Miles" I said in a loud firm voice.

"I don't think so, kid"

"Maybe if you stopped drowning yourself in that stuff you could see all the good things you've done"

"Like what?"

"What you did for Danny, for Charlie...For me. You aren't the same person you were seven years ago. And that's the difference between you and Monroe, you saw how bad it had become and you got away from it. _You got out_. The things he's done in the last few months, you would never have done that, even when you were General of the militia"

"How do you know"

"Because I do"

"Why do you care so much"

"Are you really asking _me_ that?" I said taking a seat in front of his new, shiny desk, "The story, about you taking me and Charlie out for rides when we were little...Is that true?"

"You were little, just a baby. Sarah, was on her own at the time with just you and your brothers and sometimes to give her breaks I'd take you. I would take you out in the car. We had just moved to Chicago and lived close enough to Rachel and Ben that Charlie and Danny would come along with us sometimes. She'd sit in the back between the two of you and make faces at you and Danny to try and make you laugh..."

I could see a hint of a smile as he talked about me, Danny and Charlie together, but then it became hidden once more behind the glass of whiskey.

"You never told me that..."

"Because it doesn't matter anymore"

"It does to me"

"You have to understand something Kayleigh...A few months before you were born Bass's parents and little sisters died in a car accident. It destroyed him. He was always drinking. It was why he wasn't there the day you were born. Sarah told him if he didn't get better she wouldn't let him see you. As much as it killed her she couldn't let him be around you. The first time he held you he almost dropped you because he was still out of it from the night before. Sarah kicked him out, he left and I followed. I was what kept him from going over the edge. When he got better, we had left for the Marine Corps. I had always meant to bring him to see you but I never got around to it and then the blackout happened. Maybe if I had, maybe if I hadn't gotten him in with me and starting the militia he could have been a better person. He could have been a father to you"

"Maybe...But he should have come to me himself. He shouldn't have needed you to do it for him. If he had been a better person he would have stopped before everything got so out of hand. That isn't your fault, Miles...it's his and I'm not blaming you i'm blaming him for everything that happened"

"Are you going to join us" he asked, referring to the mission he had mentioned earlier.

"No. If I do i'll probably kill Neville before we even leave the compound and you said we need him so, i'll stay. Besides, I owe it to Matt to at least stick around for a while before throwing myself in front of danger again. I'll probably just get myself shot or something. I've found i'm no rebel fighter"

He nodded in understanding and didn't say anything else so I got up from my seat and left, heading back down to the housing unit. As I walked back, the wind was picking up. I looked up to the sky to see dark clouds heading our way. As I continued to watch the darkness grow closer, I thought about how much everything had changed. It use to be just me surviving on my own...That's all that had made sense, that's all that had mattered. Now everything was so complicated and twisted I didn't know what to think. But I also couldn't picture what life would be like without them, my family. Matt, Brian and Jo. Mason, Colin and Ally...Even Jason, Charlie and Nora had grown close to me.

Then there was Miles. Even as much apart of the complication and twist of my life now that he was, I couldn't really picture it without him.

And of course Dean. He had become my rock, my everything. I didn't even want to imagine what it would be like without him at my side...Several occasions almost making that a reality.

I loved him.

It was simple and complicated just like everything else. Walking into the building, just as rain was starting to fall lightly, I ran into Dean.

"I was just coming to look for you" he said, "Charlie told me about Neville"

I looked up at him, he seemed more concerned for me then angry about Neville's new partnership with Georgia.

"I need a drink" I said leaning into him, my head only coming up to his chest.

"You don't drink" he laughed, putting his arms around me.

"Now feels like a good time to start as any"

"Follow me"

He took my hand and pulled me towards a door labeled 'STAIR WELL' in bright yellow letters. We headed down only two floors as we reached another door that read 'FIFTH FLOOR' in the same yellow paint. He pushed open the door and led me down the hall and into a large empty room. It looked a lot like a science lab, short counter tops lined the room in two rows of six tables. An old wooden desk stood at the front of the room, facing the counter tops. Old glass beakers, tubes and other strange looking equipment were stacked on top of a counter that lined the back wall of a room and covered in cob webs.

"I found out this use to be a high school" he said leading me into the room.

"A high school?"

"Well, private school...Just like the peach eaters they were considered to be a bunch of rich snobs. That's why the campus is so big, which is of course perfect for us"

"Aren't we under ground?" I said looking towards the light coming from windows high near the ceiling.

"Not exactly, this building was built on a hill. They carved part of the back out...There's a door down the hall that leads to the back of the building...I had time to explore" he said seeing my confused expression for how he knew so much.

"Why did you bring me down here?" I asked, moving to examine the strange glass tubes and equipment on the back counter.

"So we could be alone" he said moving behind me and putting his hands on my waist.

"Right, because all this dust and mold is every romantic" I said sarcastically.

"I meant so we could be alone to talk"

Turning me around to face him he lifted me up and placed me on top of the counter. He took my hands, holding them tightly he looked into my eyes and smiled at me.

"What about?" I asked.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine...Why?"

"I just wanted to make sure you're okay after everything with us and Evansville, then everything with Monroe and Dixon shooting you...and now Neville being here"

"Right..." I said, sighing slightly.

I pushed a loose strand of hair from my braid back behind my ear and looked down at our hands. His thumbs were moving softly over my palms. It was a lot to think about...I had already forgotten our fight. But now it was at the front of my mind as he mentioned it again. Then of course everything in Evansville...The militia boy I had seen and all the bodies still haunted me. Then next Monroe...My father...The man who threatened to kill me then stood over my body and cried when I had been shot...And now Neville, the man I partially blamed for Danny's death and before when he nearly killed Dean back in Indiana...back when everything seemed so much simpler when it was just me and Dean in that little farm house...

"I'm just trying to take everything a day at a time, I guess"

He moved his hand like he was going to put it to my cheek, but hesitated and moved it back. I held it tight, leaning in and kissing his lips. I felt his hands move to my waist, then down my body as he pulled me towards the edge of the counter and into him so our bodies pressed tightly against each other. He pulled his lips away, smiling. Looking happier then I had seen him in a while. I leaned my head against his chest and closed my eyes, my fingers clutching his shirt tightly.

"I'm sorry I left you that morning..." I said referring to the day me and Miles ran off to Monroe, "I wanted to stay. I would have stayed with you all day if I could have"

"I know"

"I love you. You enormously stubborn pain in the ass"

"I know" he said slightly laughing.

"Promise me something?"

"Depends" he replied.

"If this is ever over...the fighting...the bloodshed...Promise me you'll take me back to that little farm house in Indiana"

"Is that really what you want?"

"Yes" I said softly.

"Then I promise"

* * *

okay well the next few chapters move really quickly...so yeah.

And also where I am right now is pretty much where season two starts...And I actually have two versions. One that's following the plot and one that I had started and went off on my own back when all we had for information was from the promo. So idk which i'm going to post but because that isn't for several more chapters I got time to decide :)


	30. Chapter 30

**CHAPTER 30: Kayleigh**

"So this Dr. Camp he created a type of weapon that could have killed us all...And you kidnapped him from militia and destroyed his work...Then let him go so that Foster didn't use him for the same reason?"

"Pretty much" Miles replied.

"What about Neville what happened to him?" Dean asked.

"Got left behind...we had a run in with militia on our way back" Charlie said, smiling slightly. We were sitting in Miles new office on the compound, he was standing behind his desk looking over a map and marking our next route to a Rebel-Georgian Coalition in Ashland, Kentucky.

"Once we get to Kentucky things should go back to normal" Miles said, making a mark on the map.

"Normal?" I said.

"Yeah ya know, hitting militia camps. You guys will go back to having patrol and actually doing something"

Suddenly, the door to Mile's office flew open and a very angry looking Tom Neville came bursting in, his gun drawn and pointed at Miles. Charlie pulled her own and aimed it at Neville's head.

"Hey Tom, you look upset" Miles said, still looking over the map in his hands.

"Go to hell Miles"

Miles gave a heavy sigh, throwing the map down on the desk in front of him.

"How'd you get away?" he asked.

"Cost me all my men to do it" he replied, "where's Dr. Camp?"

"Oh he's gone"

"I will find him. You know I will" Neville said, inching closer to Miles.

"No you won't" Miles said, almost laughing, "Wanna know why? Cause i'm smarter then you are. He's not going to work for Monroe or for Foster"

Neville lowered his gun, looking like a vein was going to burst in his forehead.

"Fine, then i'll take the troops back to Georgia"

"Yeah...I doubt that. See Tom, i'm winning. More battles all the time and at the end of the day what do you think Foster cares more about?" Miles said with a satisfying smirk on his face as he moved around his desk and walked right up to Neville,

"Your pride or a win?"

Miles smile grew wider and wider as Neville didn't reply...He nodded at me and Charlie, then walked out of his office heading back for his room. Neville turned his head to look down at me from the seat I was so comfortably lounging in that sat in front of Miles desk.

"Heard you got shot...I thought you were dead" he said looking at me more irritated then he had at Miles.

"Sorry to disappoint" I replied, feeling just as satisfied from Miles telling him off. He moved his attention over to his son, they stared at each other for a long moment before Neville took off out of the office.

"Well, that wasn't at all awkward" Dean whispered to me. Charlie took Jason's hand,

"Come on, we should get ready to leave for Kentucky" she said to all of us.

We headed back to the housing unit to gather our stuff once more. Moving back and forth between Georgian and Rebel camps with Miles was becoming exhausting on all of us but we stayed with him. We were starting to mold into our own little fighting unit, following Miles and letting him take us where he was needed most.

"You ready to go kid?" I said to Matt, walking into the boys room. He was sitting on one of the bunks with his pack open in front of him. What things he had, which wasn't much, were scattered out in front of him. He was holding a small pocket knife in his hand. I walked over and sat beside him,

"It was Rob's first knife...He gave it to me for my seventh birthday..." he said with tear filled eyes.

"I miss my brothers too" I said to him, taking his small hands in mine, "We don't have to do this anymore. We can stop...Maybe go to Atlanta? Or even Texas..."

"No!" he said whipping his head up, "I like being apart of the rebels, even if I can't fight yet"

"It's not safe for you. I shouldn't be dragging you everywhere like this. It's no life, Matt"

"Are you going to get rid of me..."

"Of course not! I just don't want to see you hurt because i'm wrapped up in this. I think we should both leave"

"But you can't leave the rebels! They need you!"

"I think they can survive without me"

"Can't we stay with Miles and Dean"

"I don't know what to do Matty"

"Kayleigh..." I turned to see Dean standing in the door way, "It's time to go"

I started to put away Matt's things, stuffing them back into his small blue pack. He didn't move, he only continued to sit there and hold his pocket knife. I got up and swung his bag over my shoulder as mine was already on my back. I reached out my hand to Matt and he took it barely holding on as we followed Dean out of the building. I let Matt sit in front of me on Indy so that he could see better as we made our way to Kentucky. Dean rode beside us, with Colin, Ally and Mason taking up the rear. I could see Miles and Nora in lead, farther ahead of us...It looked like they were arguing but they both had been so distant with each other lately it was hard to tell what was going on between them. I smiled, seeing Jason and Charlie riding beside each other. But suddenly, a horse came zooming by us and right for Miles.

It was Tom Neville.

We all stopped as Miles and Neville got into a heated discussion.

"What do ya suppose that's all about?" Colin said bringing his horse up along side mine. I still wasn't use to his thick accent but it wasn't hard to understand him either.

"I don't know, but it's Neville so it can't mean anything good"

Miles face grew hard and angry, he and Nora turned their horses back down the path and continued on...But Neville didn't turn back towards Parkersburg, instead he kept his horse straight and took a place in line behind Miles...

"What the..."

"He's not coming with us is he?" Jo asked as she, Jack and Brian had caught up to us.

"Sorry but it looks like he is" Dean replied.

"Awesome" I muttered under my breath.

After a few hours of riding in the dark after the sun had already set behind the tall trees, Miles stopped our parade of rebels...and Neville...And we set up camp for the night. We all tried to keep our distance from Neville, none of us pleased about him being here let alone now apart of our 'team'. President Foster had instructed that he and Miles were to work together and that meant he was going to be with us every where we went. We sat now around the fire Brian and Mason built for us, Neville sat on the opposite side as we all squeezed together. No one wanted to be too close to him...And I didn't blame them.

He was sitting happily slurping up his beans, looking too pleased with himself and knowing how his presence made us uncomfortable. Matt was sitting in front of me, leaning back against my legs as he chewed on some bread. My hands were gripping the edge of my tin cup tightly as I glared at Neville from across the fire pit. He saw me staring, laughed to himself, then ignored me as he went back to eating.

"I'm going to get some more fire wood" I said handing my cup of water to Matt.

"You shouldn't go alone" Dean said looking up at me as I stepped over the log I had been leaning against. As I moved past my pack I lifted my bow in the air, silently telling him I would be fine on my own. I didn't turn to look back, but I knew his eyes were on me as I walked away from the light of the fire. I swung my bow on my shoulder as I picked up broken twigs and branches and cradled them in my arms.

"He was right...You shouldn't be going off alone" Miles said coming up from behind me.

"God don't do that! You scared the hell out of me" I said trying to catch my breath.

He started picking up sticks along side me...For several minutes we did this in silence before he talked again.

"Dean told me you were thinking about leaving"

"So what? He wanted you to talk me out of it"

"No, the other way around. He wanted me to talk you into going to Atlanta, getting out of being a rebel"

"I've thought about it"

"But you aren't going to do it"

"How do you know?"

"Because I know you. You'd hate it in Atlanta, not being able to _do something_. Trying to have a safe, normal life when you know the kind of people that are out there"

"You mean my father"

"Yes, I mean Bass"

"Can I ask you something" I said stopping and turning to look at him.

"Shoot"

"Do you think he can change...I mean, if he was once a good person, do you think he could be again"

"Do you?"

"I asked you first"

"I think...I think he's a lost cause and needs to be put down. He's not the same person, and I don't think he can be again"

"But you don't think if he got out...If he was with the right people"

"There are no 'right people'"

"We are...You two were like brothers but it was more than that wasn't it? Like you can't really label it...And i'm his daughter I suppose. If anyone can help him it would be us"

"I thought you hated him. I thought you could never think of him as your father after everything he's done. A little over a week ago he had a gun to your head"

"He kept a picture of my mother and me. After all this time, he still had it. A part of him remembers who he use to be. I saw his face when he would talk about her in front of me...He wants that part of him back but he doesn't think he can have it. As for the gun thing you know he wasn't going to shoot me, or else you never would have told him you didn't care if he did"

"Why the sudden change of mind"

"Everything's spinning out of control. We're winning now but what about tomorrow? You say the only way to stop this is to stop Monroe, that doesn't necessarily mean we have to kill him to do it"

"Why do you suddenly care so much about whether or not he dies"

"I've just seen enough people die for one lifetime that's all"

"And what if you can't change him. What if he can't be that person again?"

"Then you can kill him"

We started off early the next morning, just before the sun rise. It went on like that for a few days. Avoiding Neville, but now I was avoiding Miles too. I knew that dragging Matt all over wasn't an option I could live with, so I came up with a compromise. I didn't have to stop being a rebel, but I didn't have to continue being a fighter either or moving around with Miles. After getting to Ashland, I planned on talking to Miles about sending me off to Atlanta to help in the hospital with the injured soldiers sent home. Matt could come with me and hopefully I could find a place to stay. The only problem with my plan being Dean. It would mean I would have to leave him and the rest of my friends behind, not knowing if they made it through another day. That I knew would hurt me the most if I went through with this. The Ashland Georgian-Rebel base took up most of the small city. Hundreds of Georgian soldiers were hunkered down here and even rebel units had come a few days before us. Including Taggert's New England units and even Commander Ramsey and Jim Hudson had come back from Annapolis. Buildings on the outskirts of the city were used as look out posts, one for each area; North, South, East and West. One, small building was dedicated as an armory while the rest made housing units and mess halls for the hundreds of soldiers that were held up here. Tents outlying the middle of the city were set up for the officers as 'war rooms' and even used because of overflow of soldiers. Matt and Ally felt so out of place amongst the enormous army as they were the only ones still in their early teens. Because of their young ages they had mostly stuck together but only when Matt wasn't clinging beside me or Ally wasn't clinging to Jo. I watched them from the steps of one of the red, brick buildings along the main street as they played with a very flat soccer ball Matt had found down an abandoned alley. They looked like normal kids, squealing and laughing as they tried to keep the ball away from one another. Even though Ally was a good six years older then Matt, she seemed younger as they played in the street together. Dean came up from behind and sat beside me on the stairs and handed me a white mug, steam pouring from the top. I looked in and smelled the almost minty fragrance of the liquid he handed me.

"It's tea" he said, after taking a sip from his own mug.

"Thanks"

I took a sip of the hot drink, it's warm smooth textured flowed down my throat and I felt more relaxed sitting there then I had felt in years.

"I have patrol tonight" he said after a few minutes of watching Matt chase Ally up and down the dirt street.

"Will you be out all night?" I asked.

"Only a few hours"

"Will you come by my room after?"

"Of course" he said turning and smiling at me. He kissed my forehead after sitting a while and took the empty mug from me as I handed it back to him,

"I'll see you later" he said going back inside. It was still early in the morning but Miles had asked Dean to be by his side during the meeting with the Georgian officers who were reporting back to President Foster. I don't know if he was keeping him by his side because of Dean's ties with rebels even with Ramsey here or because he didn't want to be alone with a bunch of Georgians and of course Tom Neville.

"Can we go see Jack?" Matt and Ally had come running up to me now, sweat dripping down their foreheads from running around so much.

"I guess" I replied.

"Don't worry Kayleigh i'll make sure he doesn't get into trouble" Ally said ruffling his curly hair, now a little long even for him.

"Just don't get in the doctors way, all right you two?"

"We promise" Ally said as they both shook their heads up and down rapidly. Miles had made sure Jack was being of use in the medical building just near the North look out tower. After a group of Georgians had come in after being blindsided by bandits in Ohio, Jack showed the snobby doctors of Georgia what he could do under pressure and they were starting to accept him...Not that he had ever cared about what they thought of him as he put it...I took a walk around the small city, heading towards the more rebel occupied areas. Turning a corner of a building I came upon large green tents set up in an empty parking lot. I could see Charlie and a few others watching something that was out of my sight. I jogged up to Charlie, and followed her gaze towards Neville and Jason. They were standing close...Jason had a gun in his hand and it was slightly pointed at Neville. I couldn't make out what Neville was saying to him but Jason suddenly put the gun back down on the table with a slam. I could see Neville shake his head, almost in disappointment. Neville smacked him on the cheek lightly, almost playfully but Jason hit his hand away and pushed his father back. I could see Jason's anger building more but before anything else could happen Neville turned and walked away. Sending an angry Jason to disappear down the path towards the North lookout tower. Charlie looked helplessly at me before running after Jason. I didn't bother following, knowing that Charlie could easily handle soothing his temper. I had seen those two becoming closer over the last several weeks and it honestly didn't surprise me. I was happy that they had finally found some peace between each other after everything they've been through. I left them alone and turned back to continue my aimless walking. I was making my way towards the hospital, when a loud bell started to clang back from the North look out. I saw Nora running through the streets towards the tent where Miles and Dean were in a meeting with the officers.

"MILES! INCOMING!" she screamed as Miles, Dean and the officers ran from the tent. She looked back and pointed towards the sky. Everyone who had been walking in the streets, even people in the buildings who had come running out all now looked up as several missiles flew over and crashed into the brick buildings of Ashland. The large explosions sent the buildings collapsing in on themselves and those who were still inside them. The bricks and debris of the large buildings flew this way in that as they continued to be hit with missiles. Someone had tackled me to the ground and threw their body on top of me to shield me from the flying debris of the explosion from the building I had been walking beside. I felt the pieces of brick from the now rubbled buildings hit my body hard.

"Are you all right?" Mason asked as he helped me to my feet. There was a large gash on the side of his head and on his leg, but he ignored the pain and focused on me. I was silent as I turned to look back at the hospital...It was only a pile of rubble, fire and smoke rising from the ashes of the now demolished building.

"NO! NO!" I screamed and tried to run towards it but Mason wrapped an arm around me and held me back.

"It's too late! I'm sorry...Jack couldn't have survived that"

I hadn't even been thinking of Jack...But his body amongst the rubble had now crossed my mind along with Matt's...And now turning up to look at Mason with tears in my eyes I remembered Ally's too...

"Mason..." I cried shaking my head, "Matt and Ally were in there"

"What..." he said taking a step back. He looked like he was going to throw up, he turned towards the hospital and ran down the street...I followed, tears streaming down my face as I watched him trying to dig through the rubble to get to her.

"Mason..." I said when his finger tips started to bleed, "Mason!"

I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the fire and smoke infused rubble. His legs collapsed out from under him as I gripped the back of his jacket tightly and held him. Looking around, bodies laid on the ground around the city, unmoving...Miles, Nora and Dean came running up to me and Mason as we were still embracing on the ground.

"No one survived that...I'm sorry" Miles said looking down at my bloody, dirt and tear stained face.

"Ally's still in there...i'm not leaving her"

"She and Jack are gone Lt." Miles said firmly.

"I'm not leaving her body under that" he replied, glaring up at him.

"Kayleigh..." Miles said as he turned to me. I didn't say anything, I sat staring at the rubble...I couldn't see any bodies...No screams of help came either...

"They're gone" Dean said from behind Miles, "they're gone...there's nothing you can do for them now"

Mason looked at Dean, the tears running down his face left streaks as they wiped the dirt and blood that had coated it after the collapse of the building. He turned to look at me, then taking my hand he helped me get up from the ground.

"Matt was in there" my voice croaked and my throat throbbing. Dean's face became livid, looking back at the hospital then back to me as his eyes began to fill with tears as well.

"General! General!" a man in a Georgia Federation uniform came running up to Miles, "Militia was spotted just three miles north of the city they'll be here soon"

"How many men?" Neville asked, running up to us.

"I can't be sure. Seems like all of them, maybe hundreds in full force" he replied.

"Looks like Monroe's out to finish the job this time" Neville said looking to Miles.

"All right, anybody who can still walk get them down to the river, to the boats" Miles said to the soldier. He nodded and took off, helping injured up and directing them west.

"What about the ones who can't walk?" Nora said harshly.

"Look, I want you to get out while you can" Miles said ignoring her question, "That includes you three as well"

"What about you? Where are you going?" Nora asked.

"North"

"Right at Monroe's men?"

"That's where Charlie is" he replied walking towards one of the now shredded tents and gathering guns and his sword.

"Well then you're not going alone...Don't argue" she said when he gave a disapproving glance.

"Get her out...Or those militia soldiers will be the least of your problems" Miles said to Dean.

"Yes sir" he replied softly, looking back at the space where the hospital once stood. Nora grabbed her own gun then turned to me,

"I'm sorry" she said then started towards the North lookout tower...or where it had once been...

"Dammit...Wait!" Neville said, grabbing a gun himself and following them. I could only assume he was going for Jason who had been with Charlie when this happened. We watched them all disappear towards the north.

"Are you okay to walk" Dean asked, gently putting his hand on my shoulder. I didn't answer him...the numb and cold feeling grew within my body again as it had back in Annapolis...I stood frozen, in shock as I looked at the debris that had killed the eight year old boy I had loved...

"I'm going to kill him" Mason muttered under his breath, "I'm going to kill him"

He was looking to the north where Miles, Nora and Neville had just run off too...to the path that the militia would take as they advanced to over take Ashland.

"We have to go" Dean said grabbing Mason and pulling him around. Mason started to walk away as Dean took my hand, but I shook it off and followed Mason. We made our way out of the city quickly, towards the river Miles had directed the Georgian soldier to with the survivors. They were loading the few that had survived...only about thirty of the once three hundred...into the boats and down the river as close as we could get to Atlanta.

"Is there anyone else?" asked Ramsey, who came running up to us when he saw us emerge from the woods.

"Miles, Charlie, Nora, Jason and Tom Neville" Dean replied.

"We can only wait maybe another half an hour before we have to leave...let's hope Miles can get them back here in time"

Mason slowly made his way onto the boat, limping from the large gash on his calve. I froze again, looking back at the woods towards where the city would be if they trees weren't blocking my view. Dean came beside me and grabbed my hand again, gripping it tightly so I wouldn't pull away. He pulled me towards the boat and down to one of the lower decks. He pulled me down the halls until we found an unclaimed room. He sat me down on the small cot inside then left me there. When he came back he was carrying bandages and what ever other medical supplies he could grab. He poured clean water into a basin that sat on the bedside table and dipped a piece of cloth in it. He sat beside me and started to wipe away the dirt and blood from my skin. I could barely hold myself up, barely move more from the pain of loss then my minor wounds. I barely felt the stinging pain of the antibiotic he poured on a dry cloth and moved over the gash on my elbow and my cheek. I barely felt anything he did, before I knew it he was bandaging the gash on my elbow, gently moving it around and around then taping it down when he was satisfied with its coverage. Someone ran passed our room, then doubled back and looked inside. I couldn't even bring myself to look all the way to see who it was. Dean moved from his spot and embraced him,

"I'm glad you're okay" the familiar voice of Brian Smith said after they pulled away from each other. I could feel Brian's eyes on me but I still didn't turn. Dean left the room, pulling Brian with him and closing the door. There was a small mirror above where the basin was placed. I could just see my face, it was cut and bruised. Dean had gotten the blood and dirt off relieving my pale sickened expression. I closed my eyes not wanting to look at that tarnished person...I heard the door open and felt a hand caress my cheek. Dean's lips pressed against my forehead. He gently forced me to lie back on the cot, he sat beside me and stroked my arm. I opened my eyes now, looking up at him with tears still falling. There was a knock at the door, Dean got up and opened it again.

"Captain, General Matheson is asking for you"

Dean looked at me, then nodded to the soldier and followed him, closing the door behind him. I pulled the thin blue blanket from the cot over my body and wrapped myself in it, trying my best to escape the coldness I was feeling. I shut my eyes tightly and opened them...I did it again hoping that this was all just some long continuous nightmare that I would wake up from...That when I opened my eyes I would be five years old and lying underneath the yellow polka dot covers of my bed, my mother would be beside me as she handed me my teddy bear that would fall off during the night as I toss and turned. She would kiss my forehead and tell me it was just a bad dream. That everything was going to be okay. But as many times as I opened and closed my eyes I still stared at the same white metal door of the small room. I was still on the boat...And my mother, along with everyone else I had ever cared about was dead...

* * *

I apologize for character deaths...now i know what it's like to be kripke...


	31. Chapter 31

**CHAPTER 31: Dean **

*Twenty One Days after the Attack on Ashland*

(Presidential Compound Atlanta, Georgia)

I had left her lying on the bed, tucked under the covers silent and still. She slept on even though it was already mid afternoon, she had tossed and turned all night with nightmares that I couldn't sooth from her mind. I had wanted to stay by her side but knew I couldn't...I couldn't afford that luxury. Despite the large loss we received from the Ashland massacre we still had a war to fight. It was our first major loss since joining up with Georgia.

Jack...Matt...Ally...Colin...

Their faces ran through my mind a million times a day. We found out about Colin from Jo, he had been amongst the ones who perished when the hospital collapsed. He wasn't even supposed to be there, he had patrol duty with Mason who had been on his way to grab him when the missiles hit. Brian and Jo had been lucky. They had heard the warning bell and ran out of a building to investigate. Only few seconds after it was hit and the explosions caused it to collapse as well. Some of the falling debris had hit Jo, leaving an awful scar down the side of her face. Brian only got off with one deep cut on his back and a few small cuts and some bruises everywhere else. Charlie and Jason had made it out alive too. Neville having missed the boat carried Jason all the way to Atlanta, Jason almost died before they even made it but thanks to the doctors here he was starting to feel better. But as for Nora, she had went missing while helping Miles rescue Charlie from the North lookout tower...no one has heard or seen her since then. She's been presumed dead, even though Miles won't accept it...

We were all taking the losses hard but especially Kayleigh and Mason. Neither of them have spoken much...or eaten much...or done much of anything since Ashland. Kayleigh was afraid to go into the hospital wing when she was offered a position there. Her lack of sleep and food made Miles and me make the decision to cut her from even going on patrol. We both tried our best to help her but she didn't want it. Even Charlie and Jason took turns coaxing her out of her slump but she would only push them away as she spiraled deeper into her depression.

_Twenty one days._

Over the last few days Miles had started letting me off missions, only giving me patrol and bringing me to meetings with Foster thinking that if I didn't make it out alive it would only make matters worse in Kayleigh's current condition...

"And lay waste to my city...my people!" Foster said slamming her fist onto her desk. Me and Miles were in her office now, standing in front of her desk. I had been zoning in and out for the past hour and wasn't really sure what was going on anymore...

"I have an obligation to save as many of them as I can. So I don't know if you...either of you...have any brilliant ideas, if you do now is the time to hear them because if you don't..." she moved away from us, looking out the large window that stood behind her desk and overlooked the main square in the city. She was nervously twisting the pearls around her neck,

"I'm going to surrender"

"You can't surrender!" I said jumping back into the conversation, "if you do all those people would have died for nothing!"

"And what do you suggest I do then Captain?!" she replied angrily, turning back around to face me, "I understand you lost loved ones in Ashland but I can't let more people die...If that means giving Georgia over to Monroe then so be it"

Miles stayed silent, I could see him staring down at his own feet.

"I'm sorry...You're dismissed" she said when I went silent again.

I followed Miles out of her office, he stopped me just outside as the Georgian officers closed the doors to Foster's office behind us.

"Take the day off" was all he said before taking off down the long hallway. I made my way back to my room on the other side of the presidential compound. The building was large with eight floors and having to dedicate each side as a 'wing'. My room was located in the South Wing towards the back of the massive complex and on the third floor. I opened the door to an empty bed. I moved in and closed the door behind me, looking around I found Kayleigh in the small adjacent room. She was sitting on a chair in front of a wash basin. When she heard my boots thumping on the floor as I walked in, she turned, hiding her bare chest with her arms when I came up behind to kiss her head. She pulled a grey bra back over her then lifted the white button up blouse from the back of the chair. Looking at her back it wasn't hard to tell which scar had come from the bullet that pierced her, as it was the smallest one. I could see her spine poking out as she stretched her arms back and pulled on the blouse.

"Are you going to eat anything today?" I asked now watching from the door way.

"I'm not hungry..." she whispered so softly I could barely hear her. She pushed the small white buttons through the tiny holes of the shirt, going almost all the way up, only leaving a few undone. She tucked the front of the shirt into her jean shorts and pulled her thick black belt around her waist. I continued to watch as she had to pull her knife from her boot that laid on the ground in front of her and cut another hole into it so she could make it tighter around her. She hadn't lost that much weight but it if she didn't start eating regularly it was going to start becoming more of a problem. She rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, and tucked them tight so they wouldn't fall back down. Sitting back down in the chair she pulled on socks and then her boots. When she tried to stand up again but her body wavered and almost collapsed, I caught her in time and lowered her back into the chair. I moved in front of her, kneeling on the floor I put my hands gently on her knees and looked up at her. Her hands were covering her face as she cried into them.

"I can't do this anymore" she said, I took her hands in mine and grasped them tightly, "I told him I would take care of him"

"I know"

"I don't even get to bury him...he was only eight"

"I'm sorry"

"I should have been with him...I should be dead too...I should be dead not him"

I pulled her from off the chair and cradled her in my arms as she gripped my shoulder tightly and buried her face into my blue jacket that she loved so much and cried. Twenty one days and she hadn't cried since right after the missiles hit and the hospital had collapsed.

"This is all my fault Dean. I should have taken him away from all this. I had wanted to take him away" she said still sobbing.

"This is not your fault Kayleigh, you can't blame yourself for those missiles, you didn't send them Monroe did. And if it's anyone's fault for Matt being here it's mine for convincing Rob to join the rebels in the first place. Then maybe both of them would still be alive"

"I don't blame you..." she whispered and tightened her grip on my jacket.

"Then you shouldn't blame yourself"

We sat there all day, the only time I moved was when I slid over to lean against the wall but I never let go of her.

_Twenty one days..._

**_-Day Twenty Two-_**

She was asleep in my arms, her head on my bare chest and her arms tucked in. She was so still and silent when she slept that I was afraid to move or even shift slightly. It had been the first night without nightmares and the first night we had been together since back in that small tent in Marion. Every inch of her was pressed to me, it felt like we were molded together. My finger tips glided as softly as they could over her bare back, side and arms as she continued to sleep. But soon her body stirred, shifting her body only a little as she moved her hand over my chest. Her head moved back and she opened her eyes slightly and then all the way as they adjusted to the light.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Just after dawn...How'd you sleep?"

"Fine" she replied, a slight smile spreading across her face but then it faded quickly...as if remembering she wasn't allowed to be happy.

"Good, get dressed" I said throwing the blanket off us and gently sliding out from under her. Getting out of bed I pulled on my clothes and when I turned back she was still lying there, a confused look on her face.

"Well, are you coming or not?"

"Where are we going?" she asked starting to pull on her own clothes.

"You'll see"

Going out through the back I led her away from the presidential compound and into an overgrown park behind it. When we were a good distance, I stopped in a small clearing that was filled with small yellow, pink and purpled wild flowers. Grabbing as many sticks as I could I started making crosses with them. I took out my pocket knife and started carving names...

Jack Sanders. Ally Anderson. Matthew Swanson. Colin Morgan.

Kayleigh helped me stick them in the ground, lining them next to each other, but a few feet apart amongst the flowers. I took several steps back to look at our memorial and Kayleigh moved to Matt's marker. From around her neck she pulled off the gold cross she had received from Jimmy before he died back in Annapolis. She hung it from the neck of the grave marker then stepped back beside me. She grabbed my hand, entwining her fingers tightly in mine and leaned her head against my shoulder as we stood in the clearing for a while. I looked down at her, her eyes met mine as I did,

"Thank you" she whispered. She leaned her head on my shoulder again and wrapped her arm around mine as I let her stay for as long as she needed. Only a few minutes had past when we heard footsteps behind us, turning around we watched as Brian, Jo and Mason made their way towards us. We all stood in silence as we looked upon the crosses. When me and Kayleigh turned to leave, only Jo and Brian followed...Mason stayed, kneeling in front of the cross that read Ally Anderson...

"Do you think he'll ever be okay?" she asked me, looking back at Mason as we walked away.

"None of us will" was my reply. We made our way back to the compound, only to find soldiers rushing people from buildings and out of the city.

"What's going on?" I asked pulling over one of the soldiers who was ushering a young couple out of one of the apartment buildings across from the presidential compound.

"We've been receiving non stop threats for the past hour from Monroe. He plans to attack the city, militia was seen by our spies heading here...Hundreds of them" he replied and continued pushing people south. We all looked desperately at each other,

"Brian, go get Mason and the three of you need to leave with the rest of these people...Go to Texas, we'll meet you in Houston" I said to him. Brian nodded in understanding then shook his hand,

"Be careful. Hopefully i'll see you soon" Dean said, then Brian and Jo headed off to grab Mason.

"Kayleigh-" Dean said turning to me.

"No" she said shaking her head at me, already knowing what I was going to say, "I'm coming with you"

I didn't argue with her, taking her hand we pushed through the crowd back towards the presidential compound only to see Miles running towards the hospital.

"Miles!" she yelled, now pulling me in his direction. Miles turned, looking for her face in the crowd. When he spotted us he waved at us to follow. We followed him into the hospital and the room where all the injured would flood to when coming into the city. As Miles pushed back the large double doors, a Georgian doctor saw us and immediately pointed Miles across the room to where Nora was lying in a bed. Miles ran quickly to her but when I tried to follow Kayleigh grabbed my arm and held me back.

"Give him a minute..." she said watching as Miles sat beside her and caressed her cheeks trying to gently wake her. Her face was beaten from torture and she looked terrified as her lips moved quickly. When she finally stopped, Miles turned to look back at us. His face was wearing the same expression of fear that Nora had sweeping across her own.


	32. Chapter 32

**CHAPTER 32: Dean **

"Thanks for springing the girl" Miles said as he walked into the small interrogation room. An unfamiliar man now occupied the chair that sat behind the small table inside.

"Almost makes up for the time you jumped me" Miles added.

"Yeah...There was that" the squirrelly man replied.

"You know it's, it's not easy strolling a prisoner out of a militia black site...so how'd you manage to do that?" Miles asked as he circled around the man.

"I uh, drugged her then took her out under a sheet like she was dead"

"And you just snagged one of those little necklaces too, huh? Not sure even I could've done that"

Miles moved towards the two way mirror, looking in he gave a slight nod to us.

"I got lucky..." the man replied quietly.

"Or maybe this is all a set up..." Miles said still looking in the mirror. Ramsey and Jim exchanged looks, Neville stood next to them ignoring the rest of us as he watched Miles interrogate the man. I stood along the opposite wall leaning against it with my arms crossed in front of me and Kayleigh at my side.

"Spying for Monroe, using Nora as your ticket in" Miles finished.

"Screw you" the man replied angrily, "I'm here to help"

"So you're a good guy now?"

"A good guy? No, no i'm not a good guy. They made me do terrible things! They ordered me to kill your friend Nora...Couldn't do it, can't do it anymore! Look, we're wasting time here. Rachel's in danger, Monroe knows she went to the tower. He took an army, he's gonna find her and he's gonna kill her"

"You know where this place is? This tower?" Miles questioned, leaning over the desk so he could look the man in the eye.

"Yeah"

"Good. You're going to take us there"

Miles walked away and headed out of the room.

"So, Jim..." Miles said going over to him, "I think you should sit this one out"

"What are you talking about"

"Rescuing Rachel it's...it's a hail Mary" he replied, "chances of us finding her before Monroe does or chances of us even getting out of there in one piece are...You got somebody to go home too"

"You son of a bitch. You got some nerve saying that to me...she will not take me back because you dragged me into this. So you better put on a dress cause you're all I got left" Jim replied and quickly left the room.

"Great, so when do we leave" Neville said suddenly speaking up.

"Ah, great...You too?" Miles said looking even less pleased.

"Trust me when I say Foster is going to want me to come along on this stupid ass mission of yours. I call shot gun" Neville smirked viciously back at Miles and left the room as well.

"You ready Kid?" Miles said to me.

"Yes sir"

"I'm coming too" said Kayleigh.

"I don't think so" me and Miles said at the same time.

"There is no way i'm going to Texas. You two are all I have left so you better suck it up because I'm coming" she replied.

Me and Miles exchanged weary expressions from Kayleigh's sudden change in attitude.

"Great, so it's settled" she said with a satisfied smile,

"What did Neville mean by shot gun?"

Miles told us to pack lightly. I grabbed my sword and .9 millimeter gun and of course Kayleigh had her bow and the knife she stored safely in her boot. We met Miles outside, they had a large military looking helicopter fueled up and ready to go. A Georgia Federation emblem plastered on the side. As we walked up towards it we saw, and not at all surprised, Jason and Charlie getting into the chopper along with Ramsey as pilot, Neville, Jim and Miles getting ready to step in beside Ramsey as Co-pilot. But he stopped as Nora threw a pack onto an empty seat and started to climb in as well.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" Miles said to her.

"I'm coming with you"

"Um, she's still hopped up on some intense drugs I gave her. She's gonna need a hot minute to come down" the scientist who had brought Nora back to us said as he got in as well.

"I'm fine" Nora irritatedly replied.

"He's right you know" Miles said to her.

"Miles, this is my fault. If Monroe gets Rachel we lose and that's on me...You know I can do this. Let me help, please"

Miles no longer argued, getting in next to Ramsey he threw on the co-pilot head set. As everyone settled in, the scientist turned on the small pendant that he had stolen from Monroe and as it powered up so did the helicopter. Despite our large-ish crowd, Ramsey reassured me the chopper could handle the weight, telling me it was built to. As the propellors started spinning Kayleigh tightly gripped my arm and didn't let go, practically cutting off the circulation. Charlie was just as scared as she held on to Jason, neither of them having ever flown before. I took Kayleigh's hand from my arm and held it instead, but that didn't change her grip especially when Ramsey started to bring the chopper off the ground. It only took us a few hours to make it into Colorado, The Plains Nation territory. But we had to touch down in an abandoned air field to refuel the chopper before heading into Colorado springs, where the scientist told us The Tower was.

"All right! Let's go everybody, over here!" Ramsey yelled as we all exited the chopper, stretching our arms and legs as we did.

"You got hangers and runways all around. Hit every plane, chopper, fuel truck you find"

Ramsey handed out large plastic containers between all of us and then we all started walking off in different directions in search of fuel.

As me and Kayleigh came back with only slightly filled containers, Miles was already starting to fill the chopper. We set ours down beside him and waited as he started to empty them into the chopper's fuel tank. Soon enough, Charlie, Jason and Jim came running back with their own containers. We stood in the shade of the chopper, trying our best to stay out of the sun as we patiently waited for the others. I watched as Charlie started walking away, heading towards a large metal shipping container. I didn't think much of it and looked away until she screamed,

"MILES! It's Ramsey!"

We all ran over to her, seeing Ramsey's body lying on the floor of the shipping container. Blood was everywhere, covering Ramsey, the floor and even the inside of the door and the ground just in front of it...I shut my eyes and turned away, not wanting to see the man who had been like a father to me, bloody and lifeless on the ground. Kayleigh grabbed my hand and held it tightly as I had my back to them, but she continued to watch as Miles had moved to examine his body.

"Dammit..." he muttered.

"Who could have done this?" Jim said.

"Check it out" Miles replied.

"Ah, this is perfect" Jim said, and started to nervously look around the base.

"What's with the 'X'?" Charlie asked, having referred to the slits on his throat.

"Some local did it. It's a Plains Nation message. They don't want us trespassing"

"Hey!" Jim yelled to us after going over to the chopper. We all ran to see what he had found, only to see for ourselves that the chopper's internal wiring had been turned inside out.

"Looks like they didn't want us getting out of here alive either" he said, still scanning the base nervously.

"We don't have time for this" Miles said angrily smacking his fist against the side of the chopper.

"So what do we do?" Jason asked Miles the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Well...I'm not great but I can fly it. Nora's not great but she can fix it...Maybe. Find everyone else and warn em'"

"What are you going to do?" Kayleigh asked him.

"Going hunting" he replied, pulling his gun from out of it's holster.


	33. Chapter 33

**CHAPTER 33: Kayleigh **

I would be lying if I said I wasn't absolutely terrified. Being in the Plains Nation was a whole new experience for me, with flying and the threat of the locals not wanting us around, I was starting to become a basket case ready to explode. I tried my best to keep my fear in, not wanting Dean to think I regretted coming. The only reason I came was because I knew if there was a chance of seeing Monroe, even a slight one...I was going to kill him. I was no longer that depressed little girl moping about. I knew I had to stop doing that. That lying around and crying about all the people i've lost because of the same man wasn't going to help...That if I wanted it to stop I had to take it into my own hands. I thought maybe I could change him that maybe it wouldn't have to come to a bullet in the head but every time I thought about Monroe and seeing him I would see Matt's bloody and crushed body. I had everyone fooled, including Dean who thought I was here because I didn't want to be without him. I got along fine before him, and I could now. Killing Monroe was on the top of my list and I wasn't going to let some local pricks ruin it for me...no matter how scared it made me. I followed Dean as we went around base, weapons drawn in search of the others. As we headed back towards the chopper we ran into Charlie leading Neville back with her.

"The scientist is dead" Miles said as everyone was gathered together.

"What?"

"The same thing...An 'X' slit into his throat...He was still alive when I found him and..."

"And?" Neville repeated.

"And just before he kicked the bucket...he said that it wasn't a local"

"Then who was it?" Charlie asked.

"My best guess...One of us"

"One of us?" Jason said, everyone shifted nervously as we all looked amongst each other.

"Where's Nora?" Miles said suddenly. I looked around the group and realized she wasn't with us.

"But who would do this? And why?" Neville said.

"Where the hell is Nora?!" Miles said again more frantically.

"Okay" Miles said when no one answered, "First things first"

He headed back towards the chopper and into one of the hangers, after grabbing a bag he had everyone put their weapons into it.

"Me?" Charlie said when he brought it over to her.

"Everybody" he replied.

Miles came up to me and I handed him my bow and quiver of arrows...but that was it.

"Come on Kayleigh, I know you keep that knife in your boot" he said not moving from his spot in front of me. I sighed angrily and pulled it from my boot, hesitating before tossing it into the bag.

"So tell us Ms. Monroe, how was it when you were treated like a princess in Philly" Neville said eyeing me suspiciously.

"Quite cozy thanks for asking" I replied with a snarl.

"I'm just saying...How do we know Monroe didn't turn her a long time ago, she is his daughter after all. Spitting image if you ask me" he said, his eyes still glued to me.

"I'm not like you. I'm not a murderer" I replied.

"I've seen them in all shapes and sizes,_ girl_"

"Leave her alone. We don't know anything for sure" Miles said to Neville, "All right, gun in the bag Tom"

"With little miss Travis Bickel over here and you want me to stow my fire arm?" Neville replied, "I don't think so"

"And how do we know it wasn't you?" Jim asked him, coming up beside Miles.

"Now that you mention it, Hefty...How about you?" he said snidely, "you were gone a long time. Where were you these last few weeks?"

"I was in Annapolis, fighting with Ramsey-"

"All right, I don't have time for this! In the bag now" Miles said to Neville again. Neville reluctantly pulled his gun out of his side holster and threw it in the bag, along with the two knives he had stuck in his belt. Miles closed up the bag then threw it and my bow and quiver into the cockpit of a small chopper that was sitting inside the large hanger with us. Then he pulled his gun from his own holster after closing the door to the cockpit.

"Hold on now, you get to keep yours?" Neville said to him.

"I'll be back when I find Nora" he replied angrily, "Everybody, eyes on the bag...eyes on each other"

He ran outside of the hanger to search for Nora. We all stood in a large circle eyeing each other suspiciously...I could feel Neville's cold gaze on me but chose to ignore him, instead I looked down at the floor...Thinking about what he had said to me.

Monroe had treated me especially nice, even for his own daughter. And I wasn't surprised that Neville decided to turn it towards me when the question of spies came up, despite his own hidden agendas and having been a high ranking officer of the militia himself. But he was just a manipulative bully to me and anything he said wasn't going to convince anyone else that I was the traitor. If anybody was I would have said the scientist, except he was one of the victims now so he was obviously out...Then there was Neville and Jim...The next to most likely to be it since they both had once been high up on Monroe's most respected list. But Jim had been one of the one's who were apart of Miles assassination attempt of Monroe way back when...So if anybody I had my money on Neville.

He was snide and cocky, already trying to pin it on other people to push any suspicion off himself. He had the guts, the time and the tools to pull it off...And everyone else seemed to have their eyes on him as well...

Miles came running back half an hour later, carrying a bloody Nora. He set her on a chair,

"She was passed out on the ground with this" he said showing us a knife.

"So let me get this straight? You found Mama Sita over here with a knife, passed out with a bloody arm?"

"She cut it when she fell" Miles replied angrily to Neville.

"Okay...or when she killed geek boy she managed to get a slicing on the way down"

"Okay, back off!" Miles said standing in his way of Nora.

"Hey that scientist tried to warn us about the drugs he gave her...it could have messed her up bad" Neville said.

"He's right, it's at least possible that the drugs caused her to do this..." Jim agreed.

"It's possible it's you!" Miles yelled at both Jim and Neville.

"You're not listening to this are you?!" Miles said to me, Charlie, Jason and Dean as we sat silently away while the grown ups fought.

"She didn't do it!" Miles yelled when we didn't answer him.

"Miles..." Nora spoke up suddenly, "I think they're right. I strangled that guy back in Monroe's prison but I don't even remember doing it!"

Tears started to fall down her face and she looked away from us in shame.

"What if I did this too..."

Miles moved so that he knelt in front of her,

"Look at me, I know you. If there's anyone I trust, anybody, it's you!"

"I broke Miles...they _broke_ me...I told Monroe everything. How could you possibly trust me? I thought I could handle this but I was wrong"

"She's right you know" Neville chimed up again, "She's a risk to us all...You know we have to leave her, don't you?"

"Shut up Tom" Miles said standing up.

"Look, everybody's thinking it...Even that sweet little niece of yours" he replied, pointing to Charlie who threw him a look of disgust.

"How do we know it wasn't you? What if you did it?"

"You really think that?" Neville said walking up to Miles.

"One of you did" he said staring him down, "And I'm gonna find out who"

Miles started shuffling through what packs we did bring, going through clothes and other supplies trying to find the weapon that killed the scientist and Ramsey. We all stood and watched as he frantically dumped the contents out onto a table in front of us...Jason was beside him and suddenly Miles attention turned towards him as he pulled a bloody knife from his jacket pocket...

"What is that?" Miles said angrily and grabbed it from him, Jason's face was a mix of terror and confusion. Miles showed it to us, blood covered almost the entire knife.

"It's not mine!" Jason said frantically, "it's not mine!"

He moved away from Miles around the table towards Neville and Charlie.

"Jason..." Charlie said seeing the knife in Miles hand.

"It's not mine! I don't...I don't know what...Somebody planted that on me!" he said in panic.

"Right, somebody just Houdinied that into your pocket" Miles said.

"You wanna explain yourself?" Jim asked, also unbelieving of his confusion.

"You think I could do this?!" Jason said looking to Miles, who didn't answer.

"Charlie, tell your uncle I didn't do it" He said stepping away from Miles...But no objection came from Charlie...

"Charlie tell him!" he said looking hopelessly at her.

"Who was that guy you were talking to?" she said, "back in Atlanta...You were talking to somebody and you looked upset"

"What? What guy" asked Miles.

"I said I didn't do this..." Jason said, looking at Charlie with a hurt expression.

"You've lied to me before" she replied angrily.

"She's got a point" Miles said.

"This is crazy, Jason has no reason to kill Ramsey or that scientist! He has no motive it doesn't make sense. Miles, back in Philly...Jason was the one who came and got me out. He risked his life to save me. If it hadn't been for him I would never have gotten out" I said, the only one trying to defend him.

"I would have gotten you out" Miles replied.

"Sometimes I don't think so"

"He may have gotten you out, but that doesn't mean he didn't do this!"

"Some Georgian got in my face!" he said answering Charlie's previous question.

"I don't believe you" Neville said.

"What? You expect special treatment?" Neville added when Jason glared at him.

"What from you? No" he replied.

"Who was he?" Neville asked.

"He was Monroe Militia" Jason answered, still glaring at his father.

"What did he say" Neville asked.

"He said the war is over! That there's nothing left to save except their own asses!" Jason yelled now turning to glare at Miles, "That if I killed Miles I could have whatever I wanted"

"Good to know...what did you want?" Miles asked.

"Charlie's safety" he said glancing only for a second at her.

"What did you tell him?" Neville yelled.

"I told him no! That's the truth you have to believe me!"

"We_ have_ to believe you? After all we've been through!" Miles yelled and started to pull out his gun.

"Whoa! Whoa Miles!" Neville yelled grabbing Miles and holding him back as Jason ran out the hanger.

"Miles! Miles, No!" Charlie yelled as he ran after Jason. While everyone else ran after him I hung back with Charlie.

"He didn't do this Charlie you have to know that"

"But I don't"

"What does your heart say?" I asked her. She didn't answer me...She turned away and ignored me. I looked back at the table, Miles had put the bloody knife down on it.

"I'm gonna prove you all wrong" I whispered.

I went and picked up the knife, examining it I found the initials ' .' etched on the hilt.

" ... ..." I repeated it over and over in my head, "Oh my god! Charlie it isn't Jason! It's Jim!"

"How do you know?" she asked coming over to me.

"Look, ...that's Annapolis, Maryland! This knife was made there! Remember what Jim said? He's been fighting there with Ramsey for the last few weeks! He's the only one other then Ramsey who could have had this knife!"

She looked up at me in horror, realizing the terrible mistake she had made. We ran from the hanger but we didn't see anyone or know where they had gone in search of Jason.

"They could be anywhere" Charlie said.

"We have to find them, Miles will be next on Jim's list"

"Go that way, i'll look over here!" she said already running towards another hanger a couple hundred yards away.

I ran into each tiny building that was on the base, searching frantically for where ever Miles would look for Jason. I found him, his gun out looking through a small building that had plane parts scattered everywhere.

"Miles!" I yelled.

He turned to face me, a confused and angry expression on his face.

"It's not Jason it's Ji-"

Before I could finish speaking I felt a sharp pain in my side. I looked over and Jim was standing beside me, pulling his knife out of me. Miles would have shot him but Jim was smart and pulled me in front of him to use me as a shield.

"Drop the gun Miles" he said.

"What the hell are you doing Jim" he asked almost too calmly.

"They have her Miles...Monroe said he would kill her if I didn't. I only did what I had to to save the women I love. You, Ramsey, Neville...You're all high profiled targets. Even Dean Winchester is a threat to Monroe"

"Jim...Just let her go..." Miles said, putting his gun to the ground and his hands in the air.

"Sorry Miles, can't do that. See Monroe wanted one more thing...He wants her. Don't worry I made sure not to hit anything important" he said referring to where he stabbed me.

"How long have they had Sophie?" Miles asked.

"A while" he replied.

"You gave them intel...for the drone strike" Miles said.

"I had too"

"Good men died. An eight year old boy died you son of a bitch!" Miles yelled.

"I'm not proud. But I am done, you said it yourself we can't win. This is over, so what am I supposed to do? Let my wife die! For a lost cause?!"

"I trusted you Jim. We were friends"

"Friends? You ruined my life! I lost everything...And i'm not going to lose Sophie"

"Miles..." I said in a pleading tone.

"Goodbye Miles" Jim said, pointing his gun at him. Three shots rang out...But they didn't come from Jim's gun...

Suddenly, he fell over, releasing me from his grip. Miles ran forward and caught me before I hit the ground. We looked back to see Jason standing just outside the door with a gun in his hand. Miles looked away from Jason's hard gaze and down at me,

"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded with tears in my eyes as Miles put his hand over my wound. Miles helped me up and supported me as we walked away from Jim's body. Passing Jason on the way out, who didn't expect an apology from Miles. He wasn't even looking at him but down at me in concern.

"I'm okay, thanks for that" I said smiling up at him.

"Anytime" he replied. Having heard the shots, Dean, Charlie, Nora and Neville came running. Miles nodded towards the small building where Jim's body was.

Dean came over and Miles let go of me so he could hold me.

"What happened?" he asked looking at the blood now seeping through my white shirt.

"Just a scratch...It was Jim" I said loud enough for everyone else to hear. But Charlie must have filled them in because they didn't seem surprised. And they didn't say anything as Jason walked back towards the chopper with me and Dean. Jason sat beside me on the edge of the choppers floor as Dean got a needle, thread and bandages for my wound. I unbuttoned my white shirt and pulled it back so Dean could stitch me up. I was starting to feel woozy as sweat poured down my face.

"How do you always know?" he asked me when he started to stitch up the wound.

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"About people...You were right about him being innocent"

"Well, apparently it's because i'm the only one who trusts him" I said looking up at Jason. But he didn't look back at me, or smile at my comment. He stared at the ground, his mind somewhere else...

"I wasn't right about Jim though...I had my money on Neville"

"Well that's comforting to know" Neville said as he threw his pack back into the chopper.

"It shouldn't surprise you. Besides you accused me first you dick"

He didn't say anything else as he walked towards the front of the chopper and out of sight. Dean placed a bandage over my stitched up wound and taped it down.

"Are you three ready to get going? Nora's almost finished with the wiring" Miles said coming up to us.

"Yeah we're good" Dean replied as I pulled on an t-shirt Jason handed me from his pack. I had to tuck it in because it was so much bigger than my petite body and even then it still hung really loose. Everyone came back around and started piling into the chopper. Charlie went up to Jason as Dean helped me up and into one of the seats.

"Jason, look i'm sorry" she said.

"No it's all right...I get it. Why should you trust me?" he replied, his tone and face projecting his hurt feelings as he then jumped up into the chopper and sat to the right of me. Charlie climbed in on the other side and sat beside Dean as Neville and Nora sat across from us. Miles climbed into the front,

"All right...Here we go" he yelled back. Neville turned on the pendant and Miles fired up the chopper. The chopper started to rise, higher and higher and soon we were off...Heading for The Tower and Monroe...


	34. Chapter 34

**CHAPTER 34: Kayleigh **

"I'm fine"

"No you're not"

"I'm coming"

"All right," Miles said handing me my bow and an arrow, "If you can hit that tree...Then we'll talk"

"Fine" I said jumping down from the edge of the choppers floor. I put the arrow to the bow string and got in stance, taking aim at the tree only about forty yards away I let it fly...and missed...by several feet. I stood baffled and then it turned to frustration as Miles took my bow from me.

"You're staying. You can sit here and guard the chopper with a gun or something" Miles said as they were loading the weapons out of the back. Dean grabbed a gun and brought it over to me with two extra clips.

"You remember how to use this right?" he teased.

"Yes" I snarled, taking the gun from him. Dean looked at everyone getting ready, they were all occupied with loading their weapons. He turned back to me, putting his hand under my chin he pulled me in for a long kiss.

"Just in case" he whispered after pulling his lips away.

"Be careful" I told him and he smiled,

"Always"

"Dean wait" I said when he started to pull away. I took the locket from around my neck and put it in his hands and closed his fingers over it as I held them in mine,

"You can give it back to me later"

He kissed me swiftly one last time and I held his hand until my arm could no longer reach without moving from my spot on the chopper, his fingers slowly sliding from my grip...He followed Miles and everyone else as they headed into the dark woods towards The Tower. He started to fall behind as he kept turning and looking back at me, but soon enough he too disappeared into the trees.

Only an hour had passed and it felt more like an eternity just sitting there. Doing absolutely nothing and I hated it more than anything in the world. At one point I must have fallen asleep but it was hard to tell how long I was out for. When I woke it was still dark out, the sky was covered in clouds and the moon only peaked through every so often as they slowly drifted across the night sky. Miles had put down the chopper only a few miles away from where the scientist said The Tower would be. It was silent for a long time, almost deafening...Until I heard a loud explosion echo through the Colorado forest, I could even feel the slight rumble from the ground shaking. It was followed by the echoing of loud, rapid gun shots. I cocked the large gun in my hands and pointed it towards the woods...and waited...I could just make out the pillar of smoke that was now rising above the trees in the far distance. I had only hoped it was of Nora's making and not the militias. I slid from off the edge of the choppers floor, my boots thudding softly onto the tall grass. I gripped my side, feeling the shot of pain from the pulling tension on my stitches. I walked a bit forward...not really sure what to expect or if I should even be expecting anything...I looked back towards the smoke that was rising and into the forest as the echoing gun shots continued and then back to the chopper...

"Dammit" I muttered under my breath.

I started to walk away from the chopper and towards the sound of gun fire, towards the smoke...towards The Tower...

I was slowly making my way through the woods, following the trail Miles and the others had made when they left me behind. My hand was on my side, almost like if I held it there I could hold together my stitches which didn't ring true as blood started to seep slightly through the shirt Jason had given me. But I wasn't going to let injuries keep holding me back from getting Monroe. I just needed Dean to think that I was willing to stay behind and guard the chopper. If he knew what I was really doing he would just try to stop me and I couldn't let him do that...I didn't want to have to hurt him to finish the job Miles could never do...

The forest started to thin and the ground started to slowly lower in elevation. I got down on my stomach and crawled towards a short cliff that overlooked tents and large metal doors leading into the foot hills beside a large mountain. By the time I had got close the sound of gun fire had already diminished...Militia soldiers were running around trying to put out a fire that was still blazing from one of the large white tents. I watched as they dragged two men into one of the tents away from the fire...I could just make out them as Neville and Jason...I frantically looked around but didn't see any sign of Dean, Nora, Miles or Charlie. They must have some how managed to get into The Tower. I didn't see Monroe either as Neville and Jason disappeared behind the flaps of the tent. As I thought about what the hell I was going to do now I felt a gun poke me in the back...

"Don't move, sweetheart. Drop the gun" a deep, gravely voice said. I slowly put the gun to the ground in front of me and raised my hands,

"All right now get up...Slowly!"

I slowly pushed myself up so that I was kneeling on the ground, my hands still in the air. The gun was still poking me in the back as a militia soldier moved around to face me...

_There was two of them..._

I put my hands slowly back down to my side, hoping to catch them off guard and pull out my knife but it didn't work as the soldier yelled at me again,

"Keep your hands up! Get on your feet"

I did as he said...I looked him over, he was barely five foot four, about the same height as me but a lot older as his hair was already greying.

"Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper?" I asked smirking wickedly at the man.

"Cute, we have a smart ass on our hands" he said to the soldier I couldn't see, still holding the gun on me.

"You know...you never want to hold a gun right to someones back" I said, twitching my fingers nervously.

"Oh? And why is that?" the soldier asked laughing.

I whipped my hand around and grabbed the gun. Pulling it forward in between my arm before the soldier holding it could pull the trigger. I threw my elbow back into his face when he stumbled into me because I had pulled the gun. Then shot several rounds into the short one in front of me as he reached for the fire arm at his side. Then turning around I hit the other soldier over the head with the butt of the gun and knocked him out.

"Because they could do that"

I could already hear the militia soldiers shouts as they closed in on the location of the gun shots. I grabbed the man's fire arm, turning on the safety I stuck it in the back of my shorts then grabbed my gun and ran back down the tree line away from soldiers who were coming to investigate. I stayed just inside the tree line, aiming for the tent where they had just taken Neville and Jason. The soldiers had thinned out in search of me now, as they had probably aroused the one I knocked out. I snuck towards one of the outlying tents, looking in I could see it was just a soldier's sleeping quarters and was unoccupied. I ran in and searched through a bag on the ground, pulling out a spare uniform I pulled it on over my own clothes since it was so big and I didn't have time to fully change. I put the smaller gun now in my thick belt which I moved to the outside to hold up the large blue militia pants. I made my way back out of the tent, hoping no one would see me even though I was now at least a little less suspicious. I moved as quickly as possible towards the tent where Jason and his father were now prisoners. I stayed at the back, and tried to listen for any soldiers that could be inside but heard nothing. I pushed myself underneath the gap between the tent's fabric and the ground.

"Kayleigh, what the hell are you doing?" Jason said when he saw that it was just me.

"Saving your ass apparently" I replied and went over to untie him.

"Wait stop!" Neville said suddenly.

"What why? No doubt when Monroe gets back he'll kill us both for being traitors" Jason said to his father.

"We have an opportunity to turn the tables on him. You saw the look on that soldiers face when I mentioned how erotic and paranoid Monroe is...How he's killing officers left and right and they're probably next. We can manipulate them into flipping on Monroe but we can't do that if the little princess over here helps us escape"

"You're insane" I said.

"It'll work. You know it will" Neville said ignoring me and looking to his son.

"Miles and the others are in The Tower. There must be another way in" Jason said turning to me, "Find it"

"You're kidding me right? You want to stay here! What if he can't flip them? They'll kill you!"

"He's a manipulative bastard but he's a damn good manipulative bastard...He can do it"

"Jason..."

"Kayleigh, they have power in there. Which means plumbing...and that means there are pipes that lead out somewhere. That's your entrance"

I lightly kissed Jason's cheek and gripped his shoulder,

"Watch your back" I whispered.

"You be careful too"

I smiled and nodded, leaving the tent the way I came in. I made my way back into the woods, moving quickly I tried to find any sign that there was another way into The Tower. Praying that Jason was right about his father...And that they could get themselves out of it...


End file.
